COME FROM AWAY Reviews — Page 6

Maybe someone who has actually seen the show would be better to comment, but after listening to it a few times I probably would have preferred to have seen it cold. The style of the show is that, for the most part, it is essentially a linear recount of events - and the recording has extensive dialogue. It is very easy to follow the show from the recording and I think it would make it a bit less novel than seeing it cold for the first time.

Updated On: 4/13/17 at 05:17 PM

I always prefer going in cold. There aren't really any spoilers in this plot in the sense that you can pretty much know (or at least guess) what is going to happen so in that sense it's not like the recording will give anything away. But I found the songs much more emotional than in the recording (even though the recording is great) so I think they'd be more impactful if you wait.

Of course everyone has different preferences, but if your general preference is to wait for most shows I would guess for this you'd want to wait as well.

As far as I can recall it's not entirely sung through but is pretty close. I don't remember for sure though.

A lot of the dialogue is underscored, and with the way the show is structured, that keeps the scenes constantly in motion so it almost feels like it's sung through.

I'd wait to listen, it's a great recording but I think the ensemble work in this show is part of the charm and as I told a coworker who hasn't yet seen the show but just got the OBCR, I think the visual context adds a bit with them slipping in and out of various roles.

Yeah, definitely see it cold. The cast recording gives away what happens to everyone.

Updated On: 3/27/17 at 08:34 PM

I agree with the majority of the posters on here. Definitely a show to see cold. I vaguely knew what the plot was about but knew nothing about the music and I was pleasantly surprised. There were multiple times where I looked over at my friend during certain songs and mouthed "wow." Also the cast recording doesn't do the cast's energy onstage justice!

I would see it in May, not only because the Tony hype will be there, but also you'd see the original cast. Who knows if they will still be in the show come October. They have been with the show for quite some time already.

NYfanfromCA, I too like being in center front orchestra, and for this show I sat in D108. I loved this seat. The stage wasn't so high that I was craning my neck upward, and I really like seeing every nuance of facial expressions. The tradeoff, of course, is that there's less of a panoramic view. But the sides are taken up with musicians and some pieces of the set, so I felt I was seeing most of the action happen pretty much in front of me.

As far as listening to the recording first - no, no, no. This is one show that you need to experience fresh as it's happening. I bought the recording afterward (and have been listening to it a lot), and am SO glad that I hadn't heard the recording and knew no details about the show before I saw it. The emotional impact the first time needs to be experienced in the theater, IMO. This is from someone who had the entire "Hamilton" score memorized before seeing that for the first time, and for that show, that was the right decision for me, but for this show - no. Don't do it. You'll thank everyone who said so.

velevele said: "NYfanfromCA, I too like being in center front orchestra, and for this show I sat in D108. I loved this seat. The stage wasn't so high that I was craning my neck upward, and I really like seeing every nuance of facial expressions. The tradeoff, of course, is that there's less of a panoramic view. But the sides are taken up with musicians and some pieces of the set, so I felt I was seeing most of the action happen pretty much in front of me.

As far as listening to the recording first - no, no, no. This is one show that you need to experience fresh as it's happening. I bought the recording afterward (and have been listening to it a lot), and am SO glad that I hadn't heard the recording and knew no details about the show before I saw it. The emotional impact the first time needs to be experienced in the theater, IMO. This is from someone who had the entire "Hamilton" score memorized before seeing that for the first time, and for that show, that was the right decision for me, but for this show - no. Don't do it. You'll thank everyone who said so.



"

Thanks for the advice! I bought my ticket for May! The best seat I could find is H10, so that is where I will be sitting! I have the cast recording here in front of me still wrapped in plastic, but will refrain from listening to it until after I see the show next month.

I also had the entire Hamilton cast recording memorized before I saw it for the first time. I think I would have preferred to have gone in cold to see that, but I appreciated knowing the lyrics to the first three songs because they go by so quickly.

Julie Reiber & John Jellison have been added to the cast as additional standbys.

Reiber covers for Beverly/Annette(Jenn Colella), Janice(Kendra Kassebaum), Beulah(Astrid Van Wieren), Bonnie(Petrina Bromley) & Diane(Sharon Wheatley).

Jellison covers: Claude(Joel Hatch), Oz(Geno Carr), Nick/Doug(Lee MacDougall) & Bob(Rodney Hicks).

It would be interesting to see Jellison go on as Bob considering the character of Bob & others must be African-American during one scene.

I should add that this was by far the best behaved audience I've seen at a Broadway show. There was no chatter, no ringing cell phones, no people trying to take pictures. Everyone was completely concentrated on the show. When the performers were singing the audience was pindrop silent.

poisonivy2 said: "I went last night with some severe reservations. I usually am allergic to these kinds of feel-good, uplifting shows. But I really enjoyed the show a lot. Full thoughts here:

http://poisonivywalloftext.blogspot.com/2017/04/come-from-away-blame-canada.html

Yes, I enjoyed your full review, too, Poison Ivy. Thanks for posting it.

"

I went in pretty cold tonight and despite raising an eyebrow at the premise, I walked out completely won over. The whole thing is performed with such conviction and joy- I think it's the most spirited and charming show of the season. I really liked the score- there aren't really distinct songs (except for the excellent opener Welcome to the Rock), but the music is all enjoyable and I'm a sucker for that kind of folk sound. It helps that the band is excellent too. The book occasionally goes a bit too broad, but given the number of competing storylines at work, I think it balances it all extremely well.

The cast is a true ensemble cast, so it's hard to single anyone out, but I was really taken by Astrid van Wieren, who gives a wonderfully grounded performance as Beulah. Jenn Colella also sings the hell out of her solo. Credit also should go to Christopher Ashley for skillfully directing the show so that the delineations of the many characters were always crystal clear. The design is quite simple but this isn't a show that needs complicated design.

I'm still ultimately rooting for Great Comet to win Best Musical, but if this took it, I would be thrilled. Look, it's not the most sophisticated thing to ever hit Broadway, but something with this much heart and warmth is always welcome in my book. I was happy to see the house was packed- this deserves to have a nice long run, especially since it's a pretty potent antidote to the current mess of the world. In all honestly, I really wouldn't be surprised to see this take Best Musical- the audience roared at the end, and I doubt this was an anomaly.

Have you ever let the graphic identity of a show become an obstacle to your seeing the show?

The blue and yellow graphics and the font for 'Come From Away' are so reminiscent, to me, of 'Once on this Island' that my mind conflated the two shows, leaving me resistant to seeing 'Come From Away'.

I might have skipped it had a friend not asked me to join him tonight. Talk about going in cold--I knew nothing and half-expected Ahrens and Flaherty.

Instead, I saw a funny, heartfelt, moving and delightful show with a knockout ensemble and a high-spirited score.

Over dinner, my friend gave me a quick synopsis, and I feared a maudlin presentation of the events of 9/11 as a set-up for the action, but the show's writers are much subtler and craftier than that. What little explicit reference is made to that terrible day are beautifully rendered and wonderfully moving.

The notion that any New Yorker would resent the appropriation of "our" tragedy is just grotesque, in general. This show, in particular, is so much NOT about New York, New Yorkers or "our" tragedy, that such sentiment is--IMO--both grotesque and peculiarly, specifically, inappropriate. This is a show about the *absence* of nationalism and the triumph of shared humanity.

A beautiful, enjoyable show. Four stars, 2 thumbs up and my vote for best new musical.