Broadway Musical Blog

The reviews for Come From Away are in, and the critics agree that this new feel-good musical takes flight at just the right time. The production, by Canadian duo Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is set on September 11, 2001 and shows the heroic hospitality of a small island’s inhabitants when 6,700 people are unexpectedly grounded there after the attacks in New York City. It’s a heartwarming story told through expert ensemble work – and a smart, palatable way to even secondarily address 9/11 through musical theatre. Possibly most poignant at this hour, though, is the musical’s message about diversity, acceptance, and “loving thy neighbor” – though the planes’ passengers come from all over the world, the salt-of-the-earth Canadians accept and welcome, mostly without hesitation. It’s a timely message that helps make Come From Away a worthy night at the theatre.

NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF COME FROM AWAY

Try, if you must, to resist the gale of good will that blows out of “Come From Away,” the big bearhug of a musical that opened on Sunday night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater. But even the most stalwart cynics may have trouble staying dry-eyed during this portrait of heroic hospitality under extraordinary…
READ THE FULL REVIEW

AM NEW YORK REVIEW OF COME FROM AWAY

A 9/11-themed musical was all but inevitable, but it takes a most unexpected form in “Come From Away,” a sunny and overstuffed but well-meaning musical about the bizarre real-life circumstances under which a large group of people were indirectly affected by the tragic events…
READ THE FULL REVIEW

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY REVIEW OF COME FROM AWAY

If you’re an out-of-town visitor to New York looking for a feel-good night of theater, then Come From Away is surely recommended. This new musical tells the true story of how the residents of Gander, a Newfoundland island community of some 9000 people, responded with unparalleled Canadian hospitality to 7,000…
READ THE FULL REVIEW

TIME OUT NEW YORK REVIEW OF COME FROM AWAY

Warmth is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when Americans think of Canada, if they happen to think of Canada at all. Come from Away, a swelling heart of a musical by Torontonians Irene Sankoff and David Hein, may help change that. Its unlikely subject is a true story from the immediate aftermath of…
READ THE FULL REVIEW

NBC NEW YORK REVIEW OF COME FROM AWAY

If I need an ugly cry about 9/11, Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” usually does the trick. Mostly, though, I avoid all artistic responses to the terror attacks, as a matter of self-defense. It’s far gentler to watch “Man On Wire,” the fanciful film about Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between the towers…
READ THE FULL REVIEW