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 U.S., launches its 14th Broadway Series in August 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. Press opening is Friday, August 29 at 7 p.m.*
*Please note new, earlier 7 p.m. curtain time for Friday and Saturday evening performances in 2025-26.
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.”
Come From Away kicks off Paramount Theatre’s four-play 2025-26 Broadway subscription season, followed by Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (November 12, 2025–January 11, 2026), the Chicago regional premiere of Dear Evan Hansen (February 4–March 22, 2026) and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical South Pacific (April 29-June 14, 2026).
Just as it has since it launched its first Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount still offers the same “Buy Two Shows, Get Two Shows Free” offer, with packages starting as low as $60. That’s four Broadway-quality musicals, including Come From Away, for less than the price of one show in downtown Chicago. Plus, Aurora boasts easy, affordable parking and a host of new restaurants all around.
Single tickets to Come From Away are $31-$88 (when purchased in-person; additional fees may apply for phone and online orders), still just a fraction of the cost to see a musical in downtown Chicago.
Previews of Come From Away begin Wednesday, August 20. Press opening is Friday, August 29 at 7 p.m. Performances run through October 12: Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Exception: No matinee Wednesday, August 20.)
For tickets, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days. For group discounts, contact Melissa Striedl, melissas@paramountarts.com or (630) 723-2461.
Note: Paramount will offer two Pay What You Can previews of Come From Away on Thursday, August 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, August 23 at 2 p.m. See ParamountAurora.com/Pay-What-You-Can for details.
Access performances
Paramount will offer open captioning Thursday, September 25 at 7 p.m. and American Sign Language interpretation Friday, October 3 at 7 p.m. Paramount offers free assistive listening devices at all performances. Check in at the coat room before the show to borrow a device. If you require wheelchair or special seating or other assistance, please contact the box office at (630) 896-6666 or boxoffice@paramountarts.com in advance.
Paramount Theatre’s Come From Away set rendering by Milo Bue.
Come From Away : Behind the scenes
Paramount’s Artistic Producer and Casting Director Trent Stork directs Paramount’s Chicago regional premiere of Come From Away. Most recently, Stork helmed Paramount’s circus-inspired production of Cats, the Chicago regional premiere of Disney’s Frozen the Broadway Musical, Billy Elliot, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and School of Rock. They also won their first Jeff Award, Director-Musical-Large, for Paramount’s Kinky Boots in 2022.
Paramount Theatre’s Come From Away stars Andrea Prestinario (Beverly and others), Susie McMonagle (Diane and others), Abby C. Smith (Beulah and others), Soara-Joye Ross (Hannah and others), Michelle Duffy (Bonnie and others), Sara Reinecke (Janice and others), Russell Konstans (Claude and others), Ron E. Rains (Nick and others), Zak Berger (Kevin T. and others), Adam Qutaishat (Kevin J. and others), Sevon Askew (Bob and others) and Nick Druzbanski (Oz and others). Offstage vocalists/ understudies are Sophie Grimm, Lydia Burke, Lara Filip, Jason Richards, Makenzy Jenkins and Lincoln J. Skoien.
Paramount Theatre’s Come From Away stars (top, from left) Andrea Prestinario (Beverly and others), Susie McMonagle (Diane and others), Abby C. Smith (Beulah and others), Soara-Joye Ross (Hannah and others), Michelle Duffy (Bonnie and others), Sara Reinecke (Janice and others), (middle) Russell Konstans (Claude and others), Ron E. Rains (Nick and others), Zak Berger (Kevin T. and others), Adam Qutaishat (Kevin J. and others), Sevon Askew (Bob and others) and Nick Druzbanski (Oz and others). Offstage vocalists/understudies are (bottom) Sophie Grimm, Lydia Burke, Lara Filip, Jason Richards, Makenzy Jenkins and Lincoln J. Skoien.
Paramount’s production team is led by director Trent Stork with Kasey Alfonso, choreographer; Kory Danielson, music director, conductor; Milo Bue, scenic designer; Izumi Inaba, costume designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Mike Tutaj, projection designer; Katie Cordts, wig, hair and makeup designer; Aimee Plant, properties designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Susan Gosdick, dialect coach; Devon Hayakawa, associate director/dramaturg; Alley Ellis, associate choreographer; Kailey Rockwell, associate music director and associate conductor; Amber R. Dettmers, stage manager; and Emma Franklin and Lanita VanderSchaaf, assistant stage managers.
Come From Away, written by Tony nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein, premiered in 2015 at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, then played to critical acclaim and sold out houses at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. and Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre. It premiered on Broadway in 2017 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, where it was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, winning for Best Direction of a Musical for Christopher Ashley. International productions and national tours followed. Paramount’s Come From Away will be the first self-produced Chicago production since the most recent tour ended in May.
Come From Away is sponsored by Hollywood Casino Aurora. Paramount Theatre Broadway Season sponsors are the Dunham Foundation, BMO, Illinois Arts Council and the City of Aurora.
Across Galena Blvd. at the Copley: Paramount’s 2025-26 BOLD Series
Paramount’s fourth BOLD Series brings three more exciting works to its sleek, intimate Copley Theatre, in 2025-26, right across the street from Paramount: Sam Shepard’s American classic True West, directed by Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti (July 16–August 31, 2025), the Chicago premiere of the buzzy new play Covenant by Chicago native York Walker, directed by Goodman Theatre’s Malkia Stampley (October 1–November 16, 2025), and the first area Equity staging of Ride the Cyclone since its debut in 2015, directed by Lauren Berman (March 18–May 24, 2026). Subscribe to Paramount’s three-play BOLD Series for little as $78.
Million Dollar Quartet is still rockin' at Paramount's new Stolp Island Theatre
(top, from left): Garrett Forrestal plays Jerry Lee Lewis, Matt McClure is Carl Perkins, (bottom) Bill Scott Sheets plays Johnny Cash and Alex Swindle is Elvis Presley in Paramount’s immersive Million Dollar Quartet at Stolp Island Theatre.
That’s not all! Paramount’s immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet continues to rock in Paramount’s new Stolp Island Theatre, 5 E. Downer Place, Suite G in downtown Aurora. The critically acclaimed jukebox musical celebrating the music of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley has been extended a third time, through January 4, 2026. All seats remain just $66 (when purchased in-person; additional fees may apply for phone and online orders). Don’t wait, as performances continue to sell-out.
For subscriptions, tickets and information, visit ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or stop by the Paramount Theatre box office, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until show time on show days.
About Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., is the center for performing arts in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. The beautiful, 1,843-seat theater, graced with a strong 1930s Art Deco influence and original Venetian décor, nationally known for its high-quality productions, superb acoustics and historic grandeur, has been downtown Aurora’s anchor attraction since 1931.
Since launching its own Broadway Series in 2011, Paramount has amassed more than 35,000 subscribers, making it the largest subscription house in the U.S.
For over 50 years, the Joseph Jefferson Awards has recognized excellence in Chicago area theater. Paramount has been honored to earn 124 Jeff nominations and 31 wins over the last eight years of eligibility, including six Jeff Awards in 2022 for Kinky Boots, including Best Musical-Large, Paramount’s fourth win in that category following Sweeney Todd (2017), West Side Story (2016) and Les Misérables (2015).
Paramount Theatre is one of five live performance venues overseen by the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA) in downtown Aurora. ACCA also programs and manages the 165-seat Copley Theatre, home to Paramount’s BOLD Series, at 8 E. Galena in the North Island Center; Stolp Island Theatre, now open at 5 E. Downer Place, Suite G, with a wildly acclaimed immersive production of Million Dollar Quartet, extended through January 4, 2026; RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway, downtown Aurora’s outdoor summer concert venue and home to Christkindlmarket Aurora; and the Paramount School of the Arts.
Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals.
For the latest updates, visit ParamountAurora.com or follow @paramountaurora on Facebook and Instagram, and Paramount Theatre on LinkedIn.