Sharon Playhouse Commemorates 25th with Powerful Come From Away

From Yesterday's Matinee

By: Tim Leininger

SHARON, CT — One day I will attend a performance of Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s emotionally monumental musical Come From Away and not cry. It wasn’t last month when I saw it at Ivoryton Playhouse, and it definitely wasn’t Sunday afternoon when I saw Sharon Playhouse’s production, directed by Hunter Foster and choreographed by Krystyna Resavy, running through Sept. 27 at Sharon Playhouse at 49 Amenia Road.

I love the new design for the show by brothers Christopher and Justin Swader. The set feels at once like a giant barn, but also like a menagerie of locations throughout Gander. Signs like Tim Hortons and the airport give a sense of distance, but also of how compact and tightly knit the community is.

The cast is great. It feels like a full-fledged functioning ensemble, with actors that know the assignment they have and working diligently with each other in a unified fashion. The moments individuals get to shine are great. Nectow’s “Me and the Sky” is wonderful. Marte is the best Bob I’ve seen since Broadway, and McGuirk and Lindsey Krom are adorable as the fledgling lovers Nick and Diane.

Sharon Playhouse has put on an excellent production of my favorite musical of the last nearly 10 years. If theater companies keep producing quality productions of Come From Away like this, I’ll still be crying every time I see it, and I can’t wait.