By Margrira
Special to Amnews
The Tony and Olivier Award-winning smash hit musical Come From Away will be closing after performing 1,670 performances and 25 previews on Broadway on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street).
Produced by Junkyard Dog Productions (Randy Adams, Marleen, Kenny Alhadeff, and Sue Frost) by the time the company takes its final bow, this wonderful musical will be the 49th longest-running production in Broadway history and the longest-running show in the 105-year history of the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, a milestone the musical will celebrate on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.
Come From Away tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. I don’t have a problem admitting that I first entered the theater with low expectations and I was wrong. This is one of the best musicals ever created and one of the best examples of how absolutely anything or any event can be turned into a creative property with the right people behind it.
To wit, 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. The scenic design is 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.
A “Best Musical” winner all around the world, Come From Away began performances on Broadway on February 18, 2017, and officially opened to critical acclaim on March 12, 2017, earning 7 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical and winning the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Christopher Ashley). The original musical recouped its $12 million capitalization in less than 8 months on Broadway.
There are four global productions from Come And Away including on Broadway; the four-time Olivier Award-winning, Best Musical, production in London’s West End; the North American Tour, and the Australian National Tour and it will return to Toronto following a run at Ottawa's National Arts Centre in July 2024.
Come From Away currently features Petrina Bromley, De’Lon Grant, Becky Gulsvig, Caesar Samayoa, James Seol, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren, Emily Walton, Jim Walton, Gene Weygandt, Sharon Wheatley, Paul Whitty, Josh Breckenridge, John Jellison, Tony LePage, Monette McKay, Happy McPartlin and Julie Reiber.
We caught up with original Broadway cast member, Q. Smith who plays Hannah & others, and here’s what she had to share about being a part of one of the best musicals to ever be mounted on Broadway — Come From Away.
Q. SMITH (Hannah & others). A heartfelt thank you to my amazing cast members, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, Christopher Ashley, the entire creative team, crew, the coolest band on Broadway, Junkyard Dog Productions, and BRS/GAGE. And a very special thank you to my parents and family for always believing in me. To my Light and my son, Caleb, I love you forever. I dedicate this show to Hannah O’Rourke and her family. Ithaca College graduate. Psalm 139. www.QdotSmith.com
NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS: I was not expecting to fall in love with Come From Away but I did so bam, here we are!
Q.SMITH:
Thank you.
AMN: Cultures clashed. 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.
AMN:
You’ve been with the musical from the beginning, correct Q?
QS:
Correct, all together, I’ve been in Come From Away for seven years not kidding. It’s the longest job [in a play] that I’ve ever had.
AMN:
Isn't that beautiful! Seven years. That’s so very rare. Tell me about the audience. September 11, 2001, at 8:14 AM shook the world. It seems like a dream but it happened.
QS:
You know, our audiences are quite amazing. What makes it really unique is that this show draws many kinds of people in. Those that lived through it, some were first responders and there were others who are connected in one way or another having a relative or a friend lost their lives on 911. We also have a lot of people who were not alive when it happened. A lot of students.
AMN: I can only imagine how the energy impacts. Does the energy impact?
QS:
That’s what makes it cool and gives us different energy every single night. I think that's why I've been able to do it for so long because, you know, it's 12 actors on stage, but we always say that the 13th actor is the audience.
AMN:
Every single night …
QS:
Whole different energy. You never know what the 13th actor [the audience] will bring.
AMN:
It might look simple but the complexity of how the actors move around the stage is nothing short of miraculous.
QS:
Kelly Devine earned an Olivier award nomination for best theatre choreographer for our show. It’s not typical Broadway. Dance is not just tapping, turning left, and splits. She took pedestrian movement and made it into an extraordinary piece of work.
AMN: Amen, Ms. Kelly Devine did the thing. It looks easy but there is no way that Come And Away choreography is easy
QS:
You are correct. It’s the most physically, artistically, and challenging show that I’ve ever experienced and I’ve done some crazy, amazing, shows in the past but on this show, I never stop moving and it’s so different. And you are right. It does look simple. We don't have a lot of costume changes. We might put on a jacket, or glasses but we do it 5000 times, and has to look seamless. And we have to pass props without the audience knowing we have to change chairs, and at the same time that you're switching, we are hitting our marks, we have to sing every note, perfectly, and don't forget you're doing this dialect as well. And then it's like, Oh, my God. It is a lot. It is a lot.
AMN:
And it works. And it works. I am so sad that Sunday, October 2, 2022, is the last Broadway performance of Come And Away.
QS:
I’ve been with the show from the beginning.
AMN:
Seven years. I will leave on a high note some of the best quotes from fellow critics and to learn more about Q. Smith go to www.QdotSmith.com
Here’s What The Critics had to say about Come And Away
“YOU LEAVE THE THEATRE FULL OF HOPE!” – Daily Express
“A HIT AND A MASTERPIECE! JOYOUS, UPLIFTING AND PLENTY OF HUMOR!” – Herald Sun
“BEAUTIFULLY GIVES PEOPLE REASON TO COME TO THE THEATER—AND COME TOGETHER.” – Chicago Tribune
“A MIGHTY MUSICAL THAT REMINDS US OF THE POWER OF HUMAN GOODNESS!” – Los Angeles Times
“EXUBERANT! THE IMPACT IT’S HAVING ON HEARTS AND MINDS IS REMARKABLE. AN EFFERVESCENT MUSICAL ANTIDOTE FOR WHAT AILS THE AMERICAN SOUL.” – The Washington Post
“THIS STORY TOUCHED THE WORLD AND CELEBRATES THE BEST THAT WE CAN ALL BE. WE NEED IT, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW.” – Tom Brokaw, NBC News
CRITIC’S PICK! “THE CATHARSIS WE NEED IN THIS AMERICAN MOMENT. IMAGINATIVE AND EMOTIONAL. A GALE OF GOOD WILL BLOWS OUT OF THIS SMART, ROBUST SHOW.” – The New York Times
“IT DOES WHAT ALL THE BEST MUSICALS DO: IT TAKES YOU TO A PLACE WHERE YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU WANTED TO GO, AND MAKES YOU NOT WANT TO LEAVE.” – Newsweek
“A GLOBAL PHENOMENON!” – The Guardian
“THIS MIRACULOUS MASTERPIECE IS TOTALLY, SOUL-FEEDING WONDERFUL.” – Time Out
No comments:
Post a Comment