Sometimes the world, especially the arts, gives us what we need. We need Come From Away, playing at Ford’s Theatre now. Due to popular demand, the show has already been extended through October 25.
In the wake of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, on the tenth anniversary of its East Coast premiere at Ford’s Theatre, and in this moment of national divisiveness, this musical about kindness, care, and neighborliness is most needed — and this production of Come From Away delivers with a spirited joyousness.
The story is well-known — 6,579 airline travelers on 38 planes from around the world landed on Newfoundland’s shores amid the terror and confusion of September 11, 2001. Set in the town of Gander, the musical follows a community that more than doubled its population when planes were diverted to the airport, once a stopover for refueling international flights. These stranded strangers were invited into Gander’s homes and hearts for several days as airspace remained closed in the United States.
Come From Away features book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. The creators were in New York City on September 11 and later developed the documentary-style musical based on interviews with Newfoundlanders and airline passengers.
Ford’s Theatre’s celebratory production featuring local artists, under the direction of Kevin S. McAllister and with choreography by Katy Tabb, truly comes together — whether the actors are playing travelers or Newfoundlanders. “No man is an island, but the island makes the man … welcome to the Rock,” sings out the ensemble to welcome us to Gander, and this immersive production is set in motion.
When Hannah (Sarah Corey) performed “I Am Here” as she tried to reach her son, a firefighter in New York City, I had tears in my eyes. When, at the center of this intermission-less musical, the cast sings “Prayer” and the different faiths — Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim — unite, I had tears in my eyes. When Gander’s mayor, played with comic turns by Lawrence Redmond, led the initiation to make the travelers honorary Gander citizens, I shed tears of laughter as they giddily kissed the cod.
The finale brings it all home with a rousing, hopeful last “Welcome to the Rock,” with the musicians joining the cast on stage.
Credit to Emily Lotz, making her Ford’s Theatre debut as scenic designer, and a big shoutout to Xavier Pierce, whose lighting design of the imagined Gander shores was subtle, effective, and at moments, transformative against the minimalistic staging. This musical might be set “at the edge of the world … at the edge of the Atlantic,” but this is a first-class production.
Mason Moss music directs an eight-piece band that includes a mean (in a good way) fiddler (Kyung LeBlanc) and whistler/Irish flutist/uilleann piper (Ben Bokor). The score blends traditional Irish music with contemporary pop, soaring against intimate moments that draw us into the personal drama — and community moments that remind us how much we need one another. It’s no wonder that a survey by the American Theater magazine noted that Come From Away was among the most produced titles at America’s regional theaters last season.
Ten years after Come From Away made its East Coast premiere at Ford’s Theatre in September 2016, the musical has returned to the stage that helped launch it toward Broadway. This Tony Award–winning musical has since been performed worldwide. This month alone, productions open in Poland, Portugal, and Singapore, and the night I attended was a particularly poignant moment in Washington, DC: while the historic Ford’s Theatre was filled to capacity, across town another symbol of the arts in our nation — and the world — the Kennedy Center was being closed indefinitely.
We go to musicals like Come From Away to entertain us, but also, in their documentary style, to inform and define us. What does it say about us, in America now, when we push aside its core message of helping the stranger, inviting them in, of comity, of unity, and shut down the very institutions like the Kennedy Center that help us understand that we are all connected? It makes me want to go to Gander, where Come From Away is also playing at a 392-seat theater on Airport Boulevard, and hug a Newfoundlander, or back to Ford’s Theatre and see this outstanding production once again.
Running Time: One hour and 45 minutes, no intermission.
EXTENDED: Come From Away plays through October 25, 2026, at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St NW, Washington, DC. Tickets ($20–$80) are available online. Discounts are available for groups, senior citizens, military personnel, and those younger than 40. For more information, call (202) 347-4833 or (888) 616-0270 (toll-free). Tickets are also available on TodayTix.
Ford’s accessibility offerings (audio-described, ASL-interpreted, sensory-friendly) include closed captioning via the GalaPro App.
A digital program is downloadable here.
SEE ALSO:
Ford’s Theatre announces cast and creative team for ‘Come From Away’ (news story, July 29, 2026)
