It is withour doubt the most unusual subject for a stage musical, but be in no doubt that COME FROM AWAY is one of the most uplifting, joyous and also heartbreaking tales you will see on stage.
It’s won countless awards (and rightly so) including ‘Best New Musical‘ right across the world. Come From Away shares the incredible real-life story of the 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of 9/11, and the small Newfoundland community that invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives.
Now, this must-see musical is coming to Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre on its first ever tour of the UK and Ireland, direct from playing over 1000 performances in the West End.
The cast will include Amanda Henderson (BBC’s Casualty, Oliver! at Theatre Royal Drury Lane) as Beulah & others and Jamal Zulfiqar (Welsh National Opera’s Migrations, Wales Millennium Centre’s Tiger Bay) as Kevin J, Ali & others.
Natasha J Barnes (Hex, The Witches of Eastwick) will be starring as Janice & others, with Daniel Crowder (Mamma Mia!, The Mousetrap) as Nick, Doug & others, and Mark Dugdale (Come From Away, The Book Thief) as Kevin T, Garth & others.
Rosie Glossop (Kinky Boots: The Musical at the Adelphi Theatre and feature film) will be playing Bonnie & others with Kirsty Hoiles (Mamma Mia!, Spend Spend Spend) as Diane & others.
They will be joined by Oliver Jacobson (The Book of Mormon, Grease) as Oz & others, Dale Mathurin (Frankenstein, Evita) as Bob & others, with Nicholas Pound (Cats, Elf) as Claude & others. Sara Poyzer (Mamma Mia!, Billy Elliot the Musical) will be starring as Beverley, Annette & others with Bree Smith (Titanic The Musical, The Color Purple) playing Hannah & others.
The cast will be completed by Angeline Bell (Matilda, Mary Poppins), Daniel Cane (The Country Wife, Spamalot), Ashleigh Harvey (Mamma Mia!, Heathers), Alyn Hawke (Disney’s Beauty & the Beast, 42nd Street), Kathryn Pemberton (The Sopranos, Catch Me), and Kevin Yates (Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).
The images below are taken from the West End Production…….
The story you may well have heard about, I had, but not in any great depth. Back in 2019, I was fortunate to be sat in the Royal Albert Hall audience for the Olivier Awards, the cast performed a number from the show (Welcome To The Rock), and for me, that was it, I was hooked.
You can watch that Olivier Awards performance HERE.
The musical introduces us to some pretty amazing people, who say they were just ‘doing their job’ but it’s a job which required incredible skill and determination at one of the the most difficult times in world history.The first female American Airlines captain, the quick-thinking town mayor, the mother of a New York firefighter and the eager local news reporter are among the many real characters caught at the start of the moment that changed the course of history, and whose stories became a true celebration of hope, humanity, and unity.
Meet the real people of Come From Away HERE.
Claude Elliott is the Former Mayor of Gander, he said……
“I think this musical is changing people’s lives throughout the world.”
Come From Away has celebrated record-breaking engagements on Broadway, in Canada, throughout Australia, on a 60-city North American Tour and in the West End, playing to more than 850,000 people at the Phoenix Theatre.
Graeme Farrow, Wales Millennium Centre’s Artistic Director told us……
“This heartwarming story has understandably gathered a great following. It’s full of generosity and compassion, when a day of darkness led to people pulling together, and strangers becoming family. Not one to miss!”
The show has a superb soundtrack, which you listen to here……
The Come From Away Creative team include Olivier Award-winning writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein (Book, Music and Lyrics), Tony Award-winning director Christopher Ashley, Kelly Devine (Musical Staging), Ian Eisendrath (Music Supervision and Arrangements), Beowulf Boritt (Scenic Design), Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (Lighting Design), Gareth Owen (Sound Design), David Brian Brown (Hair Design), August Eriksmoen (Orchestrations), Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG (Casting), Tara Overfield Wilkinson (Associate Director), and Richard Hinds (Associate Choreographer).
Come From Away is produced in the UK by Junkyard Dog Productions and Smith & Brant Theatricals.
COME FROM AWAY gets to the Wales Millennium Centre from this evening, Tuesday 2nd through to Saturday 6th April. South Wales is actually the third stop on the 24 venue tour, so we get it nice and early in the run. Performances are at 7:30pm each evening with a 2:30pm matinee on Thursday and Saturday. To get your ticket go HERE.
