Even though the show takes place on the East Coast, it has a ‘Newfound’ home at the Max Bell Theatre.

Friday night, Theatre Calgary is opening its rendition of the award-winning Canadian hit musical, Come From Away. The story follows the residents of Gander, a small town in Newfoundland and Labrador in the days following September 11. Thousands of passengers from 38 planes were welcomed in Gander, a community of people who decided to care, according to a Theatre Calgary-issued release.

The show will end its run in Calgary on June 27.

Andy Cohen, who plays Oz, among other characters in the show, described it as both timeless and powerful.

“This is such a beautiful piece of art that is also so emblematic of the Canadian values that I think we all love and are prideful about this country,” he told LWC.

“There are dozens of productions happening regionally this year and the Theater Calgary production is going to be one of the best, if not the best, of all of the productions across the country.”

Cohen hopes viewers laugh and cry when the show opens on May 29.

When asked what show tidbits he could share without giving anything away, Cohen said that his personal favourite scene is a prayer sequence and he thinks audiences will laugh during one particular scene.

“It’s something to do with a fish. I won’t tell you what,” he said.

Sora Gibbons, who plays Janice and others and is originally from St. John’s, gave a hair more context than their castmate.

“There’s a traditional screech-in featured in the show, and if you don’t know what that is, you’ll learn a little about it in the show, but it’s almost like an initiation that happens when you go to Newfoundland,” they told LWC.

“You get screeched in, you might kiss a cod, we’ll see what happens in the show, but a lot of Newfoundland traditions are also brought up and talked about in the show, which is really special for me to experience.”

Being an authentic Newfie, Gibbons has personal connections to not only the setting but also the story of the show.

“After 9-11, we actually hosted some people from the states in my bedroom in my house in St. John’s and my high school hosted a bunch of people who were stranded, so it’s crazy to be in the show now,”  they said, adding that members of their family are coming in June to see the production.

Everyone in the cast has the patented Newfoundland accent down, according to Gibbons.

“I’m actually very impressed with the cast. It’s quite a hard accent to do. It comes very naturally to me, and I can put it on quite quickly, but everyone’s doing a great job with the accent,” they said.

“It’s not just the Newfoundland accent; there’s also lots of different accents from around America featured in the show, and everyone’s vocal work has been truly amazing. Jane MacFarlane is our dialect coach, and she’s been amazing.”

Timely, authentic message: Cast

Both Cohen and Gibbons said that their role in the show has been over a year in the making, but everyone came together just over a month ago.

“It’s been long days and long hours, but the show flies by. The rehearsals have been so joyful getting to connect with this cast of brilliant artists, most of whom I had never met,” Cohen said.

“I just feel really honored and privileged to be here and to be a part of this ensemble and to get to know this community and hopefully represent the theater and the show and the people well.”

Between the show’s message and how connected the cast is, this version of Come From Away is just what modern audiences need right now.

“I don’t need to tell you that it would be great if there was a little bit more love and tolerance and understanding of people that are different from us in the world. What this show does so beautifully is it shows that there are lots of different kinds and colors and types of people in this world, but everyone has a heart, everyone has parents or friends or children or family who loves them, who they love, who they care about,” he said.

“The people of Newfoundland and their huge, glorious, generous hearts is something that we can all learn from, something that we can all remember that we have within us, because that’s part of how we all grew up in this country.”

Whether you’re there for heartwarming storylines, top-notch acting or catchy tunes, Come From Away will have something for everyone, Cohen said.

“It’s a really great refresher of what it means to be a kind human,” he said.

Tickets to the production can be found here: https://www.theatrecalgary.com/shows/2025-2026-come-from-away.

Photos from Come From Away