YMMV / Come from Away

• Aluminum Christmas Trees: Some of the cultural Newfoundland experiences that can seem outlandish to non-Newfie audiences are all real: cod au gratin, the Screeching-In ceremony, the ugly stick, etc.
• And You Thought It Would Fail:
  • Initially, the writers had little hope of the show being popular, thinking that most likely Canadian high schools would be forced to do Come From Away because of its minimalism and Canadian material. Similarly, some Ganderites were bewildered that they'd want to make a musical about "people making sandwiches", as they consider their actions something that they had to do in the situation. Reg Wright, president of the Gander airport, even wished the writers "Good luck with that." Matt Kane, a Gambo resident who correctly predicted that "This project that [the writers] are working on? It's going to be big. Much bigger than [Broadway]." Three international productions ^note British, Australian, and Dutch as of 2021, a (sadly canceled) tour of China, one North American tour, a planned film adaptation and a professionaly-filmed version of the musical later, he was proven right.
  • When it's made available, high schools will jump at the chance to put on Come From Away! It has a positive story, an ensemble cast that can be undoubled to give a large number of actors named parts and a moment in the spotlight, and very little that will need to changed to make it appropriate for a school setting—as well as the minimalist setting and costuming required.
• Awesome Music:
  • As a Tony-winning musical, this is to be expected. From the hearty "Welcome to the Rock" at the beginning, to the largely jubilant "Me and the Sky", it's hard to find a song that doesn't make a lasting impression.
  • The Covers From Away album honors the musical influences on the show, getting well-known Newfoundland artists to deliver their own takes on the show's music. "Prayer" is paired with the Mi'kmaq Honor Song - from a First Nations people of Newfoundland, sung by Mi'kmaq artist Jason Benoit. One line in Mi'kmaq, perhaps, sums up the spirit of the whole musical:
    My people, let us help one another as Creator intended when he put us on the earth.
• Award Snub: Many believe that this musical should have won Best Musical at the Tony Awards (which it lost to Dear Evan Hansen).
• Fan Nickname: Kevin and Kevin, the gay couple, are sometimes referred to affectionately as "Kevin Squared" by fans.
• Friendly Fandoms: With Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. (The two shows happened to be literally across the street from each other on Broadway - Come From Away at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre and Great Comet at the Imperial Theatre.) Both lost the Best Musical Tony to Dear Evan Hansen, leading both fandoms to feel their shows had been snubbed. Come From Away fans and Great Comet fans seem to get along primarily out of sympathy, many commenting that if their show had to lose, they would've rather it lost to the other.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • In-Universe, Hannah's son was the one to urge her to take a vacation. In one of the early scenes, she gripes that the "technical difficulties" forcing them to put down in Newfoundland are exemplary of why she never takes vacations, and she plans on telling her son just that when she gets home. The line is Played for Laughs, but becomes heartbreaking later.
    • In the same vein, Kevin J jokingly claims he would never kiss Kevin T again if he kissed the cod in Screech In and Kevin T laughing it off and risking it, only for them to break up during Something's Missing with Kevin J moving back to New York.
  • Beulah's son Aubrey, whom she mentions in "Costume Party" is also a firefighter, died shortly after the show opened on Broadway.
  • Bob's initial distrust of the Gander residents and fear that he would get robbed or shot in the back for "trespassing" (after he's told to grab the barbecues for a cookout) became especially poignant after many high-profile cases of murder of innocent Black people hit the news in America.
  • Jenn Colella, who played Beverley Bass, discussed this in the book. Initially, she, the cast, and some critics expected the show's opening night would coincide with Hillary Clinton becoming the first female President of the United States, and "Me and the Sky" would be sung as a "triumph-of-woman" song, celebrating how much they've come. She now sings the song as a "look how far we have to go" one.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • The joke about the Lion's Club being overwhelmed with toilet paper donations is already funny in context, but gets even funnier (in an ironic way) as the COVID-19 Pandemic (which caused Come From Away to be professionally filmed and released) saw panic-buying and hoarding of toilet paper.
  • According to the book, the red gloves worn by the cardiologists were found by searching "Canadian cleaning gloves" on Amazon, and they have flowers on the inside that "no one ever sees". The flowers are clearly visible in the film.
  • After he's back home, Ali writes to Beulah asking for the recipe for "the fish and the cheese". The official Facebook page for the show ended up sharing a recipe for cod au gratin.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • The Muslim woman from Connecticut protecting Ali from an angry crowd when he tries to make a phone call home. Applies to Beulah as well, who stepped in to help defend Ali.
  • Bonnie pushing her way into the plane cargo holds to tend to the animals inside—among them, two endangered bonobos—despite the very real risk of being shot. Screw the guns, she's got critters to save!
  • In Beverley Bass' backstory, becoming the first female captain for American Airlines.
  • The air traffic controllers ordering the planes to divert to Gander have a couple great throwaway lines.
    Doug: I'll see your VIP and raise you an international emergency! Land now.
  • Garth's quick thinking and memory in using the Bible verse to communicate with the frightened Africans.
  • The town serving up breakfast at 4AM because the plane people who had come from Frankfurt would be hungry then.
• The Woobie: Poor Ali. Despite the fact that what happened on that day had nothing to do with him, people become prejudiced towards him simply because of his religion, and all he wants to do is help.

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