PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Tony-winning musical “Come From Away” closed on Broadway last fall, but you can catch it this week for the touring show’s second run in Philadelphia.
It tells the story of a community in Gander, Newfoundland, in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the town of 10,000 people took in almost 7,000 stranded airline passengers from all over the world.
“Our writers, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, always call it a ‘9/12 story,’ because it's really what happened in the days following the tragic events of 9/11,” said actress Christine Toy Johnson, who has been a member of the cast since the show started touring five years ago.
“We're not trying to ignore what happened in the tragic events, but they are giving an additional lens through which to see that time period.”
The show is based on the true stories of many real people — including the part Johnson plays, Diane Marson, a woman from Texas who meets a British man named Nick while they’re stranded.
“Nick and Diane and I had a 90-minute Zoom call with each other before we started rehearsals … so I got the chance to ask them some questions that were not included in the musical and just get to know them a little bit, get to know each other,” Johnson said. “And since then, they've come to visit us in many different locations. And my husband and I have become very close friends with them, and it’s just been a joy.”
Related
Johnson is also a co-founder of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, which recently was awarded the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.
“We have been illuminating the idea of more representation,” she says, “more visibility, more humanization of Asian/Asian American actors and artists throughout the industry, and also highlighting the fact that there is a lack still of parity across the industry, of all communities of historically excluded groups.”
Johnson and the rest of the cast are heading into their final few months with this show.
“I think I passed my 1,040th or so performance recently. I think it really has taught us the power of having intentional generosity and kindness,” Johnson said.
“It's about how our better angels can come out, if we choose to let them, and then what the people of Newfoundland did, in opening their homes and their hearts and their kitchens and everything.
“And I'm super excited to come back to Philadelphia to share that.”
“Come From Away” will be at the Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus, Feb. 7 – 12. Tickets and more information can be found at kimmelculturalcampus.org.