On September 11, the world stopped. On September 12, their stories moved us all.
Paramount Theatre in downtown Aurora, the largest subscription house in the United States, and nominated for an unprecedented 26 2025 Jeff Awards – eclipsing downtown Chicago theatres Goodman and Court, launches its 14th Broadway Series this week with the Chicago regional premiere of Come from Away, the first local staging of this breathtaking musical, nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
Paramount’s Trent Stork, whose recent run of smash hits include Paramount’s circus Cats, Disney’s Frozen the Broadway Musical and Billy Elliot, directs Paramount’s Chicago regional premiere of Come from Away. Performances are August 20 – October 12.
9/11/2001. 38 airplanes. 6,579 stranded passengers from 100 countries. Welcome to the rock—a safe space at the end of the world. Come From Away, a New York Times Critics’ Pick, takes audiences into the heart of the remarkable true story of nearly 7,000 stranded passengers diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, doubling its population overnight. Cultures clashed, nerves ran high, and townsfolk were put to the test, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships. Based on astonishing true events and hundreds of hours of interviews with the townspeople and the “come from aways” who were welcomed with open arms, audiences experience the spirit of small-town generosity that helped the healing begin. Full of songs that celebrate kinship and grit, the message of Come From Away is simple and significant: in this day and age, it’s more important than ever for kindness to reach across the borders.
“Though the message of Come From Away will always ring true, it feels like every day we get another reason to be reminded that we are stronger together,” said Stork. “It feels like we need a story right now that shows people coming together, helping each other out, because ‘that’s just what you do.’ We lean on each other to get through the hard times because that’s intrinsically who we are as human beings.”
Performances are Wednesday at 1:30pm and 7pm; Thursday and Friday at 7pm; Saturday at 2pm and 7pm; Sunday at 1pm and 5:30pm.
For tickets, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666,or stop by the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm, and until show time on show days. For group discounts, contact Melissa Striedl, melissas@paramountarts.com or (630) 723-2461.
