The New York Times: “Come From Away,” the inspirational musical about how a remote city in Canada welcomed frightened travelers when flights over the North Atlantic were grounded amid the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be the most staged show in the United States this season, according to a count by American Theater magazine.
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Come From Away is a beautiful musical and lends itself to theatre companies of most sizes. It is still a musical, which requires a larger budget than most plays to account for musicians, but the show can be scaled down scenically to a bunch of chairs, a handful of tables, and a backdrop. Spectacle wise it is a completely do-able show for smaller theater companies that want to put a musical in their season. I’m a little surprised that licensing wasn’t opened to educational and community theaters before now. I wonder if any of the United States political climate has had an impact on Come From Away the most produced show this year. It also makes me wonder if the current administration would look at this as a “patriotic” show or as a DEI and ant-American due to the uptick in attempting to get people charged with terrorism charges.
I had the privilege of seeing come from away’s original tour when it came to Boston back in 2019 or so. After the show, a number of the actors did a talk back with the audience, where a number of surprise guests, including one of the pilots of one of the flights that landed in Gander on September 11th and the mayor of Gander in 2001 came out to talk with the audience. The thing I remember the most clearly from the talk back was when the mayor, who had the thickest east-canadian accent I have ever been privy to, talked about the universal experience of finding yourself in a strange new place with very few options. He talked about how it’s the job of the community and of us as human beings to help each other through those hard and dark times. I think, almost a quarter century removed from the tragedy the play is based on, that this message still rings as true as ever. Come From Away lends itself to small regional theaters with its condensed cast and creatively small and adaptable set. It is a show that can physically be done anywhere, but also one that ties itself to universal human experiences. Some shows can only be done right by their writers and initial authors, but universal art like Come From Away can be adapted and staged in so many different ways without ever losing sight of its heart.
As someone who has their come from away tshirt in their weekly rotation, and is a massive fan of this show, this makes me extremely happy. It’s a very personal and interpretive show to perform, everyone sees this show differently because of how it’s written. It’s a very well performed ensemble piece, but very very customizable to fit whatever your needs are, if you need more cast size, you can separate the roles even more, if you want a more advanced set, you can do that and it won’t hurt the story. You can sort of see that in how they did broadway vs tour, even with the tour being non-equity thus coming with a lot less set and actors, they still performed the same story as the broadway, that’s the beauty of this show. It’s going to be very interesting once MTI releases rights to high schools in their upcoming license agreement, and it’s already very interesting seeing local regional theatres perform this show.
I've never seen come from away but it's been on my list for a while so hopefully sometime this year i'll get to see it at one of the apparently abundant region theaters producing the show. I have some familiarity with the story though and it seems like one that would lend it's self really well to regional theater. I think that it has a lot of room and flexibility to make interesting design choices that work well for the unique venues many regional theaters are housed in. I wonder if/when they will release the rights for educational theater, because often that comes first before the rights to do a show professionally. It' super interesting to see what shows are the super popular ones every year, and how different theaters do them the same or differently, and there are some shows that always look the same, and some that have lots of interpretation.
Reading this article about Come From Away being the most produced show this season really hit home for me because it’s a show I’ve always had a strong connection to. What I love about it is how it manages to take a story rooted in tragedy and turn it into something uplifting about kindness and community. I find that balance is so rare in theater, and I think that’s why it’s being produced everywhere right now. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big city or a smaller regional stage, the story feels universal. I’ve always admired how the show doesn’t rely on spectacle or flashy effects, but instead on an ensemble and a narrative that feels human and real. Another aspect that stands out to me is how adaptable the show is. The staging is clever but not overwhelming, and the cast can be adjusted to fit the needs of the space, which makes it perfect for theaters looking to deliver something meaningful without needing Broadway level resources.
I love this show! I am obsessed with this show! It has every right to be the most-produced show in the United States. I would produce it too if I had a theatre company and a team that could pull it off. It is a beautiful musical with a beautiful story and songs. The creative freedom that it leaves for the designers is wonderful, and its educational power is unmatched. I did notice back when everyone was announcing their summer stock season that it kept appearing on multiple big-name summer stocks, but I was fine with that. The more people who get to see this show, the better. I had the honor to see it right before it left Broadway, and it was incredible and life-changing in all of the best ways. Also, it is no surprise that everyone is doing it because the rights just got released, so everyone is immediately trying to snatch them up.
I LOVE the show Come From Away. It was the first show I saw on Broadway in high school. I think it is so well done and the story is beautiful. I think at first it turned people off because they hear it is about 9/11 and they think it is sad. And while there are a few sad moments the show as a whole is so uplifting and I think that makes it so unique. I think right now we do a lot of story telling that is sad and heavy and in your face but this is an example of a show that takes such an important story and shines a beautiful positive light on it. I am glad that a show that is so well done is being produced all over the place. I did have a thought that I hope it is being done well especially considering all the different cultures that are in it.
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