Apple Original Films has acquired the upcoming live filmed production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Come From Away for a debut on Apple TV+ later this year.
Christopher Ashley will direct the production and the Broadway cast will reprise their roles in the live capture set for this May. Come From Away tells the true story of 7,000 passengers stranded after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a small town in Newfoundland, where they were housed and welcomed.
The COVID-19 crisis shuttered the Broadway production on March 12, 2020, on the eve of the musical’s third anniversary. Before the pandemic, productions of Come From Away included shows in Toronto, Melbourne, London and a North American tour.
Entertainment One, Hasbro’s entertainment studio, is financing and producing the live-capture performance. Final casting will be announced at a later date.
EOne acquired the rights to Come From Away in 2017, and the Broadway musical was initially set to jump from the stage to the screen as a movie adaptation by The Mark Gordon Co. Irene Sankoff and David Hein, who wrote the book, music and lyrics for the musical, were to pen the feature to be produced by Gordon.
Alchemy Production Group will instead provide stage production and general management, while RadicalMedia will film the production of the musical for eOne. Christopher Ashley also directed the Broadway production before its pandemic closure.
Sankoff and Hein will serve as executive producers alongside RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, Dave Sirulnick and Meredith Bennett. Jennifer Todd and Bill Condon will produce alongside the original stage producers, Junkyard Dog Productions, as well as Mark Gordon. Brittany Hapner will serve as a co-producer.
