“Come From Away” is a life-affirming musical pleasure

Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse has chosen for its first show of 2026 the heartwarming musical Come From Away. It is the type of show that rekindles one’s faith in one’s fellow man. In the face of unspeakable disaster, the urge to help those in troubled circumstances, a basic human sense of decency, is a powerful force for good. 

Come From Away is based on the fateful events of September 11, 2001, and the week that followed. With a panicked America closing the entirety of its airspace, planes coming in from abroad find themselves abruptly rerouted to unexpected locations. 

Chief among these was the airport in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, where roughly three dozen planes were routed away from the New York area — doubling the town’s population in a matter of hours. With help from neighboring communities, the townsfolk of Gander pitch in around the clock, gathering and preparing food, and providing bedding and clothing (the passengers were only allowed to take their carry-ons off the plane). Every open-spaced building was pressed into service as dormitories, while many local families opened their homes to those stranded. Once the passengers and crew learn why their flights were rerouted, the townsfolk help provide emotional support as well.

The ensemble cast is remarkable, with everyone taking on multiple parts. Of special note are James Moye as Gander’s beleaguered mayor; Jeannette Bayardelle as Beverley, a rare black female pilot whose husband was also flying an airliner that day; Lisa Howard as Gander schoolteacher Beulah, who becomes a driven coordinator to meet the needs of the town’s guests; and Erica Spyres as Bonnie, the town’s vet, who focuses on the multitude of dogs and cats located in the plane’s hold — along with a breeding pair of rare Bonobo monkeys.

Among the passengers, gay couple Kevin J. (John El-Jor) and Kevin T. (David Socolar) find their relationship strained almost to the breaking point, with Kevin T. seeing the situation as an adventure, while Kevin J. refuses to go anywhere or see anything that would lift his anxiety. British businessman Nick (Kent M. Lewis) and Texan divorcee Diane (Andréa Burns) slowly develop a romance as they explore the things they have in common. Rema Webb as Hannah, mother of a New York City firefighter, gets emotional support from Beulah as she tries without success to reach her son, who was supposed to be off-duty. El-Jor doubles as Ali, the sole Muslim passenger, a top chef who is increasingly regarded with distrust and suspicion as he tries to contribute his talents with the food supplies.

Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s original book, music, and lyrics have been reinterpreted by director-choreographer Richard J. Hinds and music director Sam Groisser for this production. They have reinvented the story-telling so that the actors, playing instruments onstage in concert with the show’s band, become part of the soundscape. The sheer joyousness of the show is captured by the number “Screech In”, a riotous whoop-up in which some of the passengers become “honorary Newfoundlanders”. In the songs “I Am Here” and “Something’s Missing”, Hannah shows her increasing fear of disaster as she keeps trying to reach her son, while in the song “Stop the World” Nick and Diane’s relationship finally blossoms into full-throated love as, at the same time, they realize that once the planes depart they may never see each other again. And, in an interpolation, a musicalized version of the Prayer of St. Francis is sung by the entire cast in various places of worship around the town, their individual voices blending into a soaring harmony that transcends religious differences.

The wide-open set, designed by Nate Bertone and lit by Paige Seber, is a cross between an underused warehouse and someone’s junk-filled attic. It morphs itself into various locations in and around Gander, including the interior of a plane and one of the busses that took some passengers to other towns. Michelle J. Li’s costumes give you the feel of both the hardworking, generous citizens of Gander and the trying-to-stay-comfortable passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight.

Come From Away, while not a winter holiday show per se, contains the heartwarming uplift of some of the best offerings we’ve had this holiday season. It is a show offering support for the mind and the spirit. I cannot more strongly encourage you to visit the close-knit town of Gander, ensconced at the Paper Mill Playhouse, on display in Come From Away.

Come From Away is presented at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn through Mar. 1, 2026. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to papermill.org.