Award-winning musical ‘Come from Away’ to make debut in Moncton

Cast of Come From Away during a benefit performance at the Steele Community Center Arena in Gander, N.L., on Saturday, October 29, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Paul Daly)

A Tony Award-winning musical is making its debut in Moncton, N.B., this spring.

“Come from Away” tells the story of thousands of stranded passengers whose planes were diverted to Gander, N.L., following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that grounded air traffic.

The Town of Gander, which has a population of about 11,800 people, welcomed roughly 7,000 people from 38 diverted planes – opening their homes, community halls and businesses to shelter the “plane people” for the five days they were stranded.

The musical’s characters are based on real people in Gander and the things they did to dampen the passengers’ terror as they learned what had happened that day.

“Come from Away” broke box-office records after its Broadway debut in 2017.

The musical ran for a record-setting five years at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City – making it the 49th longest-running show in Broadway history and the longest-running production in the theatre’s 105-year history.

Though the show officially opened on Broadway on March 12, 2017, development of “Come From Away” began in 2012 at the Canadian Music Theatre Project at Ontario’s Sheridan College. It made its way to select North American locations, like California’s La Jolla Playhouse and the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, before it hit the stage in Manhattan.

In 2017, the smash hit musical won the Tony Award for “Best Direction of Musical,” a nod to director Christopher Ashley. It also won “Best Musical” all across North America.

The musical has shows scheduled at Moncton’s Avenir Centre for a limited engagement of three performances from May 7 to May 9.

Tickets for the show go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

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