Some musicals arrive with tap shoes.

This one arrives with 38 planes.

Moonlight Stage Productions is closing its 45th anniversary Broadway musicals season in Vista with Come From Away, the ensemble musical about the small Newfoundland town that took in thousands of stranded airline passengers after the September 11 attacks.

The show runs September 9 through 26 at Moonlight Amphitheatre.

That timing is not subtle.

And frankly, it probably should not be.

Come From Away is not a 9/11 musical in the way people might expect. It is not built around towers falling or cable-news horror. It is built around what happened after U.S. airspace closed and planes were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland.

Thousands of travelers landed somewhere they never meant to be.

Then strangers started finding them food, beds, phones, clothing, medicine, coffee and somewhere safe to breathe.

Not a bad story to put under the Vista night sky.

The Season Finale With a Different Kind of Volume

Moonlight’s 2026 season has been billed as its 45th anniversary season of “Broadway’s Best Under the Stars.”

Come From Away is the closer.

The show is scheduled for September 9 through 26, with performances listed at 7:30 p.m. at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista.

The venue is at 1250 Vale Terrace Drive, inside the city’s Brengle Terrace Park area.

For regular Moonlight audiences, this is familiar territory: bring the sweater, plan the parking, settle in before the marine layer starts doing whatever it feels like doing.

But the show itself is a different flavor from the big, shiny musical comedy most people expect from a summer amphitheater.

It moves fast.

It is ensemble-driven.

And it has the emotional sneaky-punch quality of a story that starts with logistics and somehow ends up in your throat.

What the Musical Is Actually About

Come From Away tells the true story of Gander, where about 7,000 stranded passengers found refuge after the September 11 attacks.

The title comes from the Newfoundland phrase for outsiders.

In the musical, the outsiders arrive by the thousands.

The locals respond by opening schools, churches, community centers and homes.

That is the whole engine of the show.

No cape.

No villain song.

Just ordinary people doing the next useful thing.

The book, music and lyrics are by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. The Broadway production was directed by Christopher Ashley, who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for the show.

There is also a local theater footnote here: Ashley is the longtime artistic leader of La Jolla Playhouse, and Come From Away has deep San Diego theater roots through its road to Broadway.

Why This One Fits Moonlight

Moonlight’s outdoor setting can make even a familiar musical feel like a community gathering.

That matters for this show.

Come From Away is about people making a temporary town out of bad circumstances. It is about hospitality under pressure. It is about fear being met with sandwiches, blankets and somebody willing to drive a stranger somewhere.

That could sound corny if the show did not earn it.

But there is a reason it has become one of the most-produced musicals in the country.

It gives audiences a story about disaster without asking them to sit in despair for two hours.

That is a hard trick.

And a useful one.

Tickets, Access and the Practical Stuff

Tickets are available through Moonlight Stage Productions and its VisTix box office.

Moonlight warns that it does not sell tickets through third-party websites and does not recognize third-party tickets as valid for entry.

The production page also notes designated seating in the orchestra section for patrons who need an optimal view of interpreters. Moonlight asks those ticket buyers to contact the box office directly for assistance.

That is worth knowing before the good seats disappear.

Because once a Moonlight season finale gets close, “we’ll figure it out later” has a funny way of turning into “why is everything left on the side?”

Questions You May Have About Come From Away at Moonlight

When does Come From Away run in Vista?

The show is scheduled for September 9 through 26, 2026, at Moonlight Amphitheatre.

Where is Moonlight Amphitheatre?

Moonlight Amphitheatre is at 1250 Vale Terrace Drive in Vista.

What is the show about?

It tells the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, where thousands of airline passengers were stranded and cared for after the September 11 attacks.

Should tickets be bought from resale sites?

No. Moonlight says it does not sell tickets through third-party websites and does not recognize third-party tickets as valid for entry.