Original Cast Member Joel Hatch to Depart Come From Away This Weekend

After nearly 7 years with the production, original Come From Away cast member Joel Hatch will play his final performance as Mayor Claude Elliott (and others) on Sunday, March 20.

Hatch has been with the show since its workshops and out-of-town engagements, before the production opened on Broadway in March 2017. He will be replaced on March 22 by Broadway vet Gene Weygandt, who has been playing the roles in the Australia/New Zealand company.

"[The real] Claude is a little upset that I don't have a full head of hair, because he has a lovely head of white hair, and he has let the world know I don't have a full of hair," Hatch told TheaterMania recently in a reflection on the production's fifth anniversary. "But with my replacement coming in, he's going to get a fabulous head of hair."

Come From Away is based on the true stories of the 7,000 transatlantic airline passengers who were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, and the townsfolk who came together to provide a home away from home. It features a book, music, and lyrics by Drama Desk winners Irene Sankoff and David Hein, direction by Tony winner Christopher Ashley, and choreography by Kelly Devine.