COME FROM AWAY


Come From Away makes its long-awaited regional debut at the La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts in a feel-good production that’s even better than the already brilliant 2017 Tony-winning Broadway original at bringing to life this true story of heroism, humanity, and heart triumphing over terror.

 September 11, 2001 dawned a morning like any other for the 9,000 residents of Gander, Newfoundland when the “Island People” learned that their local airport, once the refueling hub for commercial and passenger flights crossing the Atlantic, would soon be hosting thousands of international travelers stranded when America closed its airspace for fear of additional terrorist attacks.

 Recounting the ensuing days from dozens of points of view, Come From Away grabs you from the get-go and never once lets go of your heart as twelve gifted performers bring to vivid, vibrant life the Newfoundlanders who opened their hearts and homes to over 7,000 strangers including those aboard the Paris-to-Dallas flight piloted by Beverley Bass (Misty Cotton), the first female captain in American Airlines history.

 The hardest-working and most multitalented ensemble in town embody both Islanders like Gander mayor Claude (Andy Umberger), police constable Oz (Erich Schroeder), school teacher Beulah (Maura Vincent), SPCA worker Bonnie (dance captain Angela Chatelain Avila), and fledgling TV reporter Janice (Katrina Michaels), and the Plane People who’ve “come from away,” among them African-American New Yorkers Hannah (Krystle Rose Simmons) and Bob (Clinton Roane) and gay couple Kevin J. (Hayden Kharrazi) and Kevin T (Steven-Adam Agdeppa), with Englishman Nick (Kent M. Lewis) and Dallas native Diane (Gwen Hollander) on board to provide romantic sparks.

Spanning a veritable gamut of emotions from shock to confusion to anger to frustration to fear to resiliency and ultimately hope, Come From Away tells its epic but intimate story in the most theatrical of ways as cast members switch nationalities, accents, ethnicities, and religion, giving each of Come From Away’s multitude of characters his or her heart-grabbing moment.

 Hannah agonizes over the fate of her NYC firefighter son before finding comfort in Gander fireman’s mom Beulah. Animal lover Bonnie tends to canine, feline, and simian passengers including one very pregnant chimp. The Kevins fret about local reaction to a five-year relationship that may not be as strong as they’d like to believe. An Iranian traveler (Kharrazi as Ali) finds himself the object of suspicion and fear before revealing a hidden talent.

 Tony-nominated book, music, and lyric writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein provide just enough dialog to link scenes and flesh out characters while letting the show’s fourteen songs do most of the storytelling, a mix of traditional Newfoundland rhythms and Broadway pop that proves positively irresistible.

The first thing audience members who’ve seen Come From Away on Broadway, on tour, or on Apple TV+ will notice is how radically different Nate Bertone’s stunning scenic design is from Beowulf Boritt’s deliberately spare Broadway original, Bertone having jettisoned silhouetted trees and straight-back chairs for a design that’s a mélange of Gander locales and suitcases, suitcases, and more suitcases as we move from planes to buses to emergency shelters to a local watering hole to a lookout point high above Gander, sometimes at the mere blink of an eye.

Not only that, but unlike the Broadway original, it’s not just the offstage-onstage orchestra* who provide instrumental backup, it’s also cast members themselves on guitar, piano, mandolin, violin, percussion, and more.

All of this means that even if you’ve seen Come From Away before, expect to be doubly, maybe even triply dazzled this time, and if it’s your first time coming from away, how lucky you are too.

I can’t think of another Broadway musical in which so many performers share the wealth as equally as the cast of Come From Away, and what wealth that is for the all-around sensational La Mirada dozen, including Lewis and Hollander’s seize-the-moment duet high above Gander in “Stop The World,” Simmons’ heartstrings-tugging “I Am Here,” and above all Cotton’s show-stopping “Me And The Sky,” a celebration of one pioneering woman’s love of flight and her despair at seeing the thing she loves more than anything used as a bomb.

Richard J. Hinds’ direction is as every bit as inspired as it was when La Mirada/McCoy Rigby staged Newsies back in 2018, his choreography is irresistible, and not only is Sam Groisser’s music direction impeccable, the show’s 8-piece band rocks the house both during the show and following cast curtain calls.

Michelle J. Li’s costumes are accessorized in ways that tell us in an instant which characters we’re seeing, and Steven Young’s lighting, Josh Bessom’s sound design, and Melissa Dupont’s hair, wig, and makeup designs are Broadway-caliber each and every one.

 Casting is by Julia Flores. Samantha Lawrence-Mata, Tayler Mettra, Tarif Papppu, and Frankie Zabilka are swings.

Elyn Collier is associate director/choreographer, Charles Glaudini is associate sound designer, David Elzer is publicist.

Jill Gold is production stage manager and Lisa Palmire and Megan Elizabeth Reed are are assistant stage managers.

 I fell madly in love with Come From Away when I first saw it seven years ago and it remains one of my four or five favorite musicals of the past ten years.

If like me you find yourself craving a “we’re in this together” pick-me-up in these most nerve-racking of times, do yourself a favor and come from wherever you are to see Come From Away in La Mirada. I guarantee you’ll leave the theater feeling a whole lot better than you did when you went in.

*Michael Abraham, McKinley Foster, Nicole Garcia, Groisser, David Hughes, Logan Mitchell, Ben Morrow, Nick Stone

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Boulevard, La Mirada.
www.lamiradatheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
September 20, 2025
Photos: Jason Niedle

 

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