Broadway World - Highly Recommended
"...Based on a true story of compassion in the face of horror, COME FROM AWAY dazzles with sheer exuberance, leading to a surprisingly moving conclusion. When terrorists took control of airplanes, using them as weapons and crashing them near the Pentagon and in New York City on September 11, 2001, the world came to a crashing halt. And that included the small town of Gander on the island of Newfoundland on the eastern end of Canada. Thirty-eight planes were diverted to Gander, depositing 7,000 shell-shocked passengers, almost doubling the population of the town. The citizens, being good Canadians, rose to the occasion and took care of those who were stranded, housing, feeding, and befriending them."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...With book, music and lyrics by married couple Irene Sankoff and David Hein - Torontonians themselves - Come from Away truly embodies the spirit of Canada's denizens as I've come to know them: Generous, authentically nice people with little sense of entitlement. Under Christopher Ashley's seamlessly fluid direction on Beowulf Boritt's minimal set, there are many stories crisscrossing each other as 12 adaptable thespians portray dozens of folks - both homebound and dispossessed - with the switch of an accent or a hat (the quick-change costumes are by Toni-Leslie James)."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...The 2017 Broadway Tony winner Come From Away has returned to the Ahmanson Theatre for a two-week run, once again proving that heroism, humanity, and heart can triumph over terror. Not only that, but this supremely feel-good musical remains one of the best directed and most powerfully performed National Tours I've seen in many a year."
Peoples World - Highly Recommended
"...The blockbuster show is a kind of collective musicalized journal of those few days on and after September 11, 2021, when flights into the U.S. were blocked. Airplanes that had already left for the U.S. were ordered to land at Gander, Newfoundland, the small town that welcomed 7000 of the world's stranded passengers and buoyed their spirits until flights resumed. Undoubtedly, many of the characters and their stories are true to life, yet shaped and juxtaposed for maximum dramatic effect. "Cultures clashed," reads the promotional material on the production, "and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.""
Ticket Holders LA - Highly Recommended
"...Come from Away started in a 45-minute workshop version in 2012 at Sheridan College in Ontario, an event so successful the writers scrambled to finish a full-length version which debuted at the school the following year. It has since been seen in Toronto, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and here at La Jolla Playhouse before opening in New York in 2017, where it was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, and Best Featured Actress, and with Christopher Ashley deservedly winning the coveted honor for Best Director."
Indulge Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Come From Away is the brilliant musical based on the tragic day of September 11th when due to the terror attacks, 38 planes had to land in the Newfoundland town of Gander, Canada, and about 7,000 passengers were stuck there for a few days. Canadians embraced the daunting challenge of sheltering the "Plane People" by treating them like their own family. Writers (and couple) Irene Sankoff and David Hein transformed this poignant event into an upbeat and sensitive musical celebrating generosity and humanity at their best, proving that in this cold region dwell the warmest hearts."
