Review Roundup: Broadway-Bound COME FROM AWAY Opens in DC!

Before heading to Broadway next spring, Come From Away runs through October 9 at the historic Ford's Theatre. Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the stunning production features direction from Tony®-nominated director Christopher Ashley.

On September 11th, 38 planes with 6,579 passengers were stranded in a remote town in Newfoundland. The locals opened their hearts and homes, and hosted this international community of strangers for a week-spurring unexpected camaraderie in extraordinary circumstances. Featuring a rousing score of folk and rock, Come From Away honors the better angels of our nature, revealing hope and humanity in a time of darkness.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Jennifer Perry, BroadwayWorld: COME FROM AWAY is a wholly satisfying evening of theatre - a bit of a throwback kind of musical, but with enough contemporary edge, and certainly relevance. It's unique among the myriad of commercial musicals that are treading the boards today, and I wish it well. It's certainly deserving of a future life on Broadway and elsewhere, and probably more than any other of the dozens of new musicals I've seen regionally in the last year or two.

Peter Marks, Washington Post: Yes, "Come From Away" is headed to New York this winter, after an additional stop in Toronto and then a special pair of concerts in Gander itself. One wonders whether the story might be better served with slightly less emphasis on the logistics of sheltering the strangers and more on the characters' lives. A gay couple, well played by Chad Kimball and Caesar Samayoa, for instance, might come more satisfyingly into focus if the nature of their unhappiness with each other were more incisively explained. Still, if the book's mechanics unfold with too much sugar, the score has an infectious, gritty vitality: Especially good is a number set in a Gander pub, choreographed by Kelly Devine, during which a risibly nutty local initiation rite is performed, involving the embrace of a recently caught codfish.

David Gerson, DC Metro Theater Arts: As we approach the 15th anniversary of September 11 and reflect back, it seems that we can group memories and tributes in to those of flag waving American bravado, fear mongering, and inconsolable sadness. Come From Away is none of those things. It is honest and sincere. Nary an American flag in sight. And it gives truth to these wise words of a young girl who also lived during a time of unspeakable tragedy, "despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart." Yes. Yes, they are.

Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg