COME FROM AWAY Previews

[QueenAlice]

Thanks for that reassurance Whizzer!

I'm intrigued by the comments about the gay couple, who didn't seem particularly cliche or stereotypical to me.  The fact that this event was the catalyst for their (apparently) real life breakup shouldn't be the musicals fault for depiction.  How would you have portrayed these characters so they felt more real for you?

[Roscoe]

 

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Well, actually, yeah it is the job of the musical to depict the relationship's break up in a convincing manner.  Opinions are clearly gonna differ on this.  It just felt very abrupt to me, more of a dramatic contrivance to add weight to a pair of comedy relief characters who wouldn't have it otherwise than anything else.  Yeah, it seems to have been what went down in real life, that doesn't excuse the show's creators from having to depict it with some sensitivity.  I was expecting more than "you left the bar without me and I want to go back to Brooklyn."  It's a pretty shallow depiction of a break up, in what is ultimately a pretty shallow show that settles for easy laughs and easy tear-jerking.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

After Eight is clearly the Kellyanne Conway of Broadway World.

 

[QueenAlice]

Roscoe- I understand your point. It's true that the shows depiction of its (many) characters is broad and lacks the nuance that say a documentary would have, but I accepted most of it gladly as musical theatre entertainment. I suppose for some the idea of  this subject matter being "entertainment" will be in rather poor taste regardless, but I was swept up enough in the storytelling style and its heart that I was willing to forgive its lack of deep gravitas. 

[neonlightsxo]

Roscoe- agree 100%.

"I accepted most of it gladly as musical theatre entertainment."

Is it so wrong to expect our musical theater writing to be good? I guess my expectations are too high here.

[Valentina3]

Do we have seat recommendations for this show? Looks like most of the staging is center, so there shouldn't be partial view seats, right? I'm not a big fan of this theater. Saw The Humans from rear mezz and felt I was too far from the stage.

[macnyc]

The Humans was in the Helen Hayes, not the Schoenfeld.

I sat in a rush seat, mezzanine Row C all the way over on house left, and the view was great. I missed a tiny bit of the action on the far side, but as you note the staging is front and center most of the time.

I was happy to see that the wooden chairs from The Color Purple found a new gig so soon!

Seriously, my friend and I both loved it. I was determined to resist the show, but its charms won me over.

 

 

 

[LesWickedly]

Humans moved to the Schoenfeld half way through their run, macnyc.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

I am bizarrely fascinated by how well this show will do, or not do, over the next few months. I would so love to see Jenn Colella get a Tony nomination from this! Hearing about so many great performances this season...it will be an exciting ceremony.

[macnyc]

LesWickedly said: "Humans moved to the Schoenfeld half way through their run, macnyc."

Sorry! That had slipped my mind. Thanks for the correction. 

 

[ahhrealmonsters]

I saw it and loved it. That being said, the producers/marketing team better up their marketing game. I know it's only the second week of previews, but most of my non-theatre friends & colleagues have never heard of it, whereas they (mostly) all had tickets to Dear Evan Hansen before previews started. I really want this show to succeed, but it's a very big season for new musicals, and I'm scared it's going to get overshadowed by DEH & Great Comet (the two "big" new musicals of the fall) and the recognizable commodities of the spring. It's an important story that's told very well, and a true ensemble piece like I've never seen before.

[little_sally]

It doesn't help that the poster/artwork is terrible and tells nothing about the actual show.

[sabrelady]

somebody wanna documentary?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRrkJ_TDuYM

 

There was also a TV movie done too in 2009  called "Diverted" I remember seeing it cos I knew several of the crew. Not sure if it  commercially avail. I do remember it featuring the love story w the Brit.

[ACL2006]

I'm guessing that's why they offered the $38 rush tickets for four of the previews. Fill up the theater and get word-of-mouth out there ASAP.

[Finch]

I wrote this in an earlier thread, and I want to repeat my comments:

Of all the shows currently open. or scheduled for the spring, "Come From Away" is, by far, the most topical.  It reinforces the feelings of many, from away to here, of the current political stupidity.  Need I say more???!!

They took care of us, and everyone else with no place to land on 9/11-13.  And, today,  how are we reacting to allowing . . .

By the way, I saw this in DC last fall -- it was excellent and beyond in many ways.

[djoko84]

The only things I have heard about the show have come from this board. The marketers definitely need to up their game. I wasn't going to see it until I read some of the great responses to the show on here. I'm excited to see it now.

[sabrelady]

Vanity Fair did a 2 page spread on them in January. I agree tho need to do the morning shows et all.

[Hairspray0901]

I saw this last night and LOVED every minute of it. The cast was incredible, the staging is wonderfully done. The score is very memorable. The story about strength and kindness amongst strangers during a difficult time was extremely moving and still very relevant today. I'm rooting for this show. I haven't seen DEH yet (will see it in May) but I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up winning best musical. 

 

[neonlightsxo]

little_sally said: "It doesn't help that the poster/artwork is terrible and tells nothing about the actual show."

 

It looks like an ad for Earth Day.

 

[LizS]

Re documentary comment in an earlier thread

I love this story and (as a Canadian) have been familiar with it since that terrible day.  Just to add a bit more information for those who don't know - over 200 planes landed in Canada in total - Gander was not a unique story.  The people of Halifax performed in much the same way but because it is so much larger the stories became diffuse quickly (47 planes landed there versus 38 in Gander)

Here is a lovely book about the Gander plane people

https://www.amazon.ca/Day-World-Came-Town-Newfoundland/dp/0060559713

 

They took care of us, and everyone else with no place to land on 9/11-13.

One other point that has been less in focus is remembering *why* the planes were diverted.  The U.S. closed its air space due to fears there were other terrorists on inbound planes with similar intent.  500 planes were bound for the U.S. - half had enough fuel to return to their point of departure but half had to land .... but couldn't land in the U.S. so Canada permitted them to land.  So not only did the people of Gander (and elsewhere in Canada) open up their homes and hearts but there was the very real risk of terrorist activity.  Therein endth the lesson. :)

 

[ChiTheaterFan]

I saw this last night and I really, really loved the show.  I personally thought it struck a great balance and handled a delicate subject matter very well.  I was also surprised to see that, while it has a positive message, it was not exactly all sunshine and rainbows about how people treated each other on that day.

 

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The suspicion of the Egyptian man by the other passengers was particularly poignant in today's climate, and it made me think of the ways in which things are so different than they were then, but also the way things were the same in so many ways.

I loved the score and the celtic influence.  I did have a little trouble understanding at first due to the accents, but I got used to them fairly quickly.  I thought they included just the right number of stories at the right depth for a vehicle of this nature.  That said, it made me immediately want to know more about these people and other stories from that day, so I went home and found The Day the World Came to Town through google and downloaded it on my kindle.  Obviously a book can go more in depth than a musical ever could, so I'm excited to read it.

In response to some of the other comments on this board:

 

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I was surprised to see that some people felt the break-up of the gay couple was sudden and was just because Kevin 2 left the bar and Kevin 1 didn't notice.  I thought the show had started building the tension between them before that.  Maybe tweaks have been made already?

I agree with the previous poster who said it's important that the pilot's song mention that she is the first female pilot for American Airlines and the fact that she faced sexism in her career.   When you are forced to work so hard for something, you love it even more, and that clearly was part of her passion for flying.  Plus, the arc of the song is that in the beginning there's something between her and the sky--part of that something is sexism.  Then she makes captain and there's nothing between her and the sky, but after 9/11 there once again is a barrier. 

I sat in the second to last row of the mezz off to the side and I had a great view.  I didn't feel too far away at all and I could see the sides of the stage just fine.  (Note however that the balcony is narrower at the back than the front, so there are actually people in the mezz who are a lot farther to the side than I was.  It didn't look to me like it would be obstructed but I can't say for sure.)

I hope to see this again but I'm getting to New York much less than I used to and only have one more trip this season, so I don't know that I will see this again due to the number of other shows coming out, but I really would like to.  If you go, don't forget to check out the map in the lower lobby!  I loved seeing the pins where everyone was from!  (I wonder if they're leaving them in for the whole run, or if they start fresh for each show.  Anyone know?  I didn't get down there until after the show so I don't know how full or empty it was at the beginning.)

[macnyc]

Chi, thanks for your review. I think you expressed yourself very well, and I agree 100%. I look forward to the cast album!

[perfectlymarvelous]

Hairspray0901 said: "I haven't seen DEH yet (will see it in May) but I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up winning best musical. "

I think anything but Dear Evan Hansen winning is an extreme long shot at this point. And DEH absolutely should win in my view. 

 

[Hairspray0901]

perfectlymarvelous said: "Hairspray0901 said: "I haven't seen DEH yet (will see it in May) but I wouldn't be surprised if this ended up winning best musical. "

I think anything but Dear Evan Hansen winning is an extreme long shot at this point. And DEH absolutely should win in my view. "

As mentioned, I haven't seen DEH yet so maybe my thoughts will change. :) but, GGLAM and Once shocked many when they won a few years ago so, we shall see! lol. 

[neonlightsxo]

lol no

[Bettyboy72]

little_sally said: "It doesn't help that the poster/artwork is terrible and tells nothing about the actual show.

 

I see this complaint about many shows often and to be honest, do most show posters communicate much? Some are beautiful and others not so much, but they really don't tell you anything. So many musicals come from a previous work (Disney, Revivals, etc) that the work is already done. New musicals have a harder time. I mean I went into Dear Evan Hanson knowing nothing based on the show poster. What could I actually glean from it? A torso has a cast on. I think a poster can eye catching, but its a hard sell to communicate a lot of information.