Come From Away – New Canadian Musical on Broadway
A scene from Mirvish Productions’ “Come From Away.” Photo Credit Chris Bennion
Come From Away, a relentlessly peppy new musical by the Canadian husband-wife team David Hein and Irene Sankoff, tells the story of how the remote town of Gander, Newfoundland (pop. 9000), welcomed more than 6000 stranded airline passengers from 38 grounded planes when the FAA closed American air space on 9/11.
It is a worthy story on its face. The real Ganderites certainly behaved magnanimously. As we learn in the course of this show’s 100 hectic minutes of thumping group numbers, performed by a cast of 12 shifting among dozens of roles, the locals acted with extraordinary selflessness. They served food they cooked themselves, volunteered store-stocks, prepared public buildings, hotels, even their own homes for shelter: unflinching generosity and humble hospitality that deserves honor and praise. …