The events following the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil that occurred on September 11, 2001 would not appear to be the best choice as the subject for a feel-good musical and yet the Broadway blockbuster Come From Away is just that and has the critical acclaim to prove it with seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway and a win for Best New Musical from London’s Laurence Oliver Awards.
In October, Come From Away will open Slow Burn Theatre Company’s 2026/2027 season sponsored by The Islands of the Bahamas presented in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
“We’ve always wanted to do it and it just happened to be that it’s the 25th anniversary,” said the company’s Executive Director and Co-founder Matthew Korinko. “I’ve heard it said that it’s not a 9/11 musical, it’s a 9/12 musical. It’s about the good that came out of it and tells the stories of real people and how 7,000 people from around the world had a home for a few days. It’s just a great message of joy and a good way to start a season.”
In fact, it is a 9/11 – 9/16 musical based on true events as the story unfolds of the anxious passengers that were suddenly diverted to an airstrip in Gander, Newfoundland when the U.S. closed its airspace. The town with a population of approximately 10,000 was suddenly playing host to 38 international flights carrying 6,579 people until the final plane was cleared to depart five days later.
While the show’s action springs forth from grounded planes, the musical itself soars sky high with inspiring tales of how the townspeople and passengers became a global village.
In a review of the original Broadway production, the New York Times called it a “big bearhug of a musical” and reported, “Try, if you must, to resist the gale of good will that blows out of ‘Come From Away’….But even the most stalwart cynics may have trouble staying dry-eyed during this portrait of heroic hospitality under extraordinary pressure.”
Korinko, who performs as part of the cast of 12 called upon to seamlessly transform into many characters, was working as an advertising supervisor in St. Louis on September 11.
“I wasn’t even in theater and I was working for a casino, believe it or not,” he recalled. “There was a morning radio show that I listened to on the way to work and they said a plane hit the World Trade Center. I thought, okay, some guy learning how to fly has wandered off course and it’s some craziness like that. Then, before I got to work, they said the second one had hit and I knew something was wrong. Literally, everybody spent the morning just staring at the TV the whole time.”
Some audience members this fall wouldn’t have been alive 25 years ago. That is certainly the case when Come From Away is presented during a school day on October 22 for students as a Smart Stage Matinee sponsored by Nicklaus Children’s Health System. It is one of many productions that Slow Burn Theatre has presented for youth at the Broward Center including Student Enrichment in the Arts (SEAS) programs and sensory-inclusive performances.
“We’ve got to get the next generation of theater makers interested,” Korinko stressed. “We’re old enough now as a company to be told stories in our first rehearsal of ‘I saw whatever show as a SEAS show when I was in high school and that’s what made me want to do this and here I am with that same company doing it.’”
Holding a BFA in acting from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Korinko caught the acting bug himself on a school field trip.
“I saw The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at The Pabst Theater in Milwaukee when I was in grade school and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I don’t remember a ton about the show other than just being enamored. Then I remember seeing the original Sweeney Todd with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury on Showtime. The only other musicals I knew at that point were The Wizard of Oz and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the ones that you would see on TV. Then here comes this crazy dark thing and it just blew my mind. That’s something I want to be a part of.”
Tickets are now on sale for you to be a part of Slow Burn Theatre Company’s season of contemporary musicals that continues with Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dec. 12–27); Mean Girls (Feb. 13–28); Dear Evan Hansen (April 10–25) and RENT (June 12–27).
“People will stop you and not just compliment a performance but tell you something about that which made them want to follow theater, do theater, attend theater and share theater,” Korinko said. “It’s not just inspiring the next people who are going to do this as a career, but also those who incorporate it into their lifestyle.”
