People & Business
Van Wezel Announces Come From Away
October 25, 2021 – Sarasota
Van Wezel is thrilled to announce that the national tour of COME FROM AWAY, a Broadway musical about the true story of the small town that welcomed the world, will make its Sarasota debut at the Van Wezel. Come From Away tickets are on sale now!
The touring production of Come From Away will star Marika Aubrey (Lincoln Center’s South Pacific), Kevin Carolan (Disney’s Newsies), Harter Clingman(Peter and The Starcatcher), Nick Duckart (In the Heights), Chamblee Ferguson, Sharriese Hamilton, Christine Toy Johnson (The Music Man), Julie Johnson(Memphis), James Earl Jones II (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess), Julia Knitel (Beautiful), Andrew Samonsky (South Pacific), Sharone Sayegh (The Band’s Visit), Jenny Ashman, Jane Bunting, Amelia Cormack, Aaron Michael Ray, Kilty Reidy and Brandon Springman.
Come From Away features a book, music and lyrics by Olivier, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award winners and Grammy and two-time Tony Award nominees Irene Sankoff & David Hein, direction by Tony Award winner and Outer Critics Circle Award winner Christopher Ashley, musical staging by Olivier Award winner and two-time Tony Award nominee Kelly Devine, and music supervision by Olivier Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Ian Eisendrath.
Come From Away features scenic design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Tony Award nominee Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Howell Binkley, sound design by Olivier & Outer Critics Circle Award winner and Tony Award nominee Gareth Owen, orchestrations by Olivier Award winner and Grammy & Tony Award nominee August Eriksmoen, and music arrangements by Olivier Award winner and Grammy Award nominee Ian Eisendrath and casting by Telsey + Company.
Come From Away tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.
On September 11, 2001 the world stopped. On September 12, their stories moved us all.
A “Best Musical” winner all across North America, the smash hit musical has won the Tony Award for “Best Direction of a Musical” (Christopher Ashley), 4 Olivier Awards (London) including “Best New Musical,” 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding New Broadway Musical,” 3 Drama Desk Awards (NYC) including “Outstanding Musical,” 4 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards (North American Tour) including “Best Production,” 4 Helen Hayes Awards (D.C.) including “Outstanding Production of a Musical,” 4 Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (Seattle) including “Excellence in Production of a Musical,” 6 San Diego Critics Circle Awards including “Outstanding New Musical,” 3 Toronto Theatre Critics Awards including “Best New Musical,” 3 Dora Awards (Toronto) including “Outstanding New Musical/Opera” and “Outstanding Production,” and the 2017 Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award (Toronto).
The Grammy Award-nominated original Broadway cast recording of Come From Away is available digitally and in stores everywhere. Grammy Award winner David Lai, and Grammy Award nominees Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, Irene Sankoff & David Hein served as album producers.
Apple Original Films’ filmed version of the Tony & Olivier Award-winning hit musical Come From Away, produced by eOne, Hasbro’s entertainment studio, will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 10. COME FROM AWAY, which marks the first Broadway show to be streamed by Apple TV+, is directed by Tony Award-winner Christopher Ashley, who directed the original Broadway production, and stars an ensemble cast led by members of the Broadway show. The live performance of Come From Away was filmed in New York at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in May 2021, where the Broadway production is staged, for an audience that included 9/11 survivors and front-line workers; and, employed over 200 people including members of the Broadway crew, staff and creative teams.
Come From Away is produced by Junkyard Dog Productions (Randy Adams, Marleen and Kenny Alhadeff and Sue Frost), Jerry Frankel, Latitude Link, Smith & Brant Theatricals, Steve & Paula Reynolds, David Mirvish, Michael Rubinoff, Alhadeff Productions, Michael Alden & Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Sam Levy, Rodney Rigby, Spencer Ross, Richard Winkler, Yonge Street Theatricals, Sheridan College, Michael & Ellise Coit, Ronald Frankel, Sheri & Les Biller, Richard & Sherry Belkin, Marlene & Gary Cohen, Allan Detsky & Rena Mendelson, Lauren Doll, Barbara H. Freitag, Wendy Gillespie, Laura Little Theatricals, Carl & Jennifer Pasbjerg, Radio Mouse Entertainment, The Shubert Organization, Cynthia Stroum, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Gwen Arment/Molly Morris & Terry McNicholas, Maureen & Joel Benoliel/Marjorie & Ron Danz, Pamela Cooper/Corey Brunish, Demos Bizar/Square 1 Theatrics, Joshua Goodman/Lauren Stevens, Adam Blanshay Productions/Judith Ann Abrams Productions, Bill & Linda Potter/Rosemary & Kenneth Willman, and La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre.
Come From Away was originally co-produced in 2015 by La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and presented in 2016 by Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC and Mirvish Productions at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, CA. COME FROM AWAY (NAMT Festival 2013) was originally developed at the Canadian Music Theatre Project, Michael Rubinoff Producer, Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Canada and was further developed at Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Artists, in East Haddam, CT. The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, and the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle WA also provided development support.
Tickets are $42-$112 and can be purchased at www.VanWezel.org, by calling the box office at 941-263-6799 or by visiting the box office Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All other single tickets for the Van Wezel’s 2021-2022 season are on sale now. For the latest Safety Protocols, visit the Van Wezel’s Safety Page. Protocols will be revisited and revised as circumstances evolve.
This show is locally sponsored by Wilde Lexus Sarasota, official vehicle of the Van Wezel, and ABC7.
Future updates can be obtained from the Van Wezel’s website and social media accounts:
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