‘Beyond our wildest dreams’: Canada’s ‘Come From Away’ earns 7 Tony nominations
NEW YORK — The married co-creators of “Come From Away” were celebrating their six-year-journey from Gander, N.L., to the bright lights of Broadway on Tuesday as their uplifting, made-in-Canada theatrical production scored seven Tony Awards nominations, including a nod for best musical.
“Come From Away” is only the second Canadian-written show in the 71-year history of the Tonys to vie for best musical, following 2006’s “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which won five awards.
“It’s everything that we could have wished for and more, it’s so incredible. And we’re so proud to be telling this Canadian story and sharing with the world everything that we love about Canada and Newfoundland,” said Regina-born, Saskatoon-raised co-creator David Hein in a phone interview from New York.
“Come From Away” is set in Gander in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. The remote East Coast town saw its population double in size as it sheltered 6,579 passengers and crew from planes diverted when U.S. air space was closed.