Come From Away, the musical about a small Newfoundland town that took in thousands of airline passengers stranded on Sept. 11, 2001, is coming to Riverhead. Riverhead Faculty & Community Theatre, the company that brings district teachers and local residents onto one stage, will perform it at Riverhead High School for four shows, Nov. 19 to 22.

The show

When U.S. airspace closed on 9/11, flights headed for the United States were sent to airports across Canada. Gander, Newfoundland, a town with an airport built for refueling transatlantic flights, suddenly had about 7,000 stranded passengers on its hands. Come From Away tells the true story of the days that followed, as residents housed, fed and befriended strangers from around the world, and as some of those friendships outlasted the week.

The musical was written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, both Tony nominees for it. It was developed in Canada and in Connecticut, at Goodspeed Musicals' Festival of New Artists in East Haddam, before productions at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2015 and Ford's Theatre in Washington in 2016. Its Broadway production was directed by Christopher Ashley, who won the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical. The North American tour played its final performance on May 9, 2025.

Dates and times

  • Thursday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.
  • Friday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 22, 2 p.m.

The running time is 90 minutes.

Tickets

Tickets are sold through On The Stage, RFCT's ticketing page. Adult tickets are $21.98 and student tickets are $16.78, each including estimated fees of about $2. All sales are final, with no refunds.

How to go

All four performances are at Riverhead High School. Three are evening shows at 7:30 p.m.; the Sunday, Nov. 22, performance is a 2 p.m. matinee. Buy tickets in advance through RFCT's On The Stage page, since all sales are final.

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