Come From Away: Theatre professor to direct, choreograph Australian production

During the chaos of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, flights were rerouted from airports in the New York City metropolitan area. As a result, around 7,000 people ended up in Newfoundland, a remote Canadian province.

That’s the real-life story behind the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away, which opened on Broadway in 2017.

“It’s the middle of nowhere, and all of these people ended up living in this town while the world is trying to work out what happened,” explained Binghamton University Assistant Professor of Theatre and Head of Dance David Wynen. “These poor people on the plane — they don’t know if their loved ones are dead or alive, and they’re taken in by all these villagers into their homes and families.”

This spring, Wynen will direct and choreograph this production in his native Australia. Located in the Toowoomba region of Queensland, The Empire is the largest regional theater in the country, with 1,500 seats.

It’s a spectacular opportunity for Wynen, who came to the United States in 2017 to work in theater and dance. For the first two years, he was unable to pursue his ambitions until he secured a green card. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck — which put theatrical opportunities on hold for a few years.

He’s already had a standout career, mostly in his native country, and hopes the March production will lead to future opportunities in the U.S.

Wynen’s directorial credits include 42nd Street, Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Seussical and The Addams Family; he also choreographed Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, The Wizard of Oz, Kiss Me Kate and Godspell, and performed in Australasian tours of 42nd Street, Hocus Pocus and Showstoppers and the Australian cast of Billy Elliot. In 2023, he also appeared in Billy Elliot at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y., as well as serving as the show’s associate director.

Broadway musicals typically come with a “show bible” that outlines how the show must be performed, he explained. As a result, big-name professional musicals such as Cats are essentially the same, no matter where in the world they are staged.

With Come from Away, however, Wynen is permitted to exercise his own creative license and create his own version. That’s a huge professional win since the theater is required to get approval from those who hold the show’s rights.

He hopes to bring a New York perspective to his Australian performers and audience. In turn, he will bring the experience back to his Binghamton students, providing a perspective on global theater.

Come From Away runs from March 14 to 23. First, Wynen will spend two weeks this month choosing the cast and creatives — those who work on sets, costumes and lights. Then, he will return in January to put the show together over six weeks.

Wynen saw the show during its initial Broadway run and instantly fell in love. The script is based on interviews with the actual people involved in the 2001 events, he said.

“It’s real words from real people that are put on stage,” he reflected. “There’s singing and dancing and acting; it’s funny, but it’s also sad.”