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Michelle F. Solomon, ATCA

There's a little bit of everything tossed into the gem of a musical "Come From Away" about a group of travelers, but it's never overkill, just true, heart wrenching, relatable feelings of a few days in passengers' lives after planes are diverted while in the air because of tragic terrorist events in New York City On Sept. 11, 2011. There's feminine power with a story by one of the first female commercial airline pilots, there's suspicions of people whose cultures are different from others, there's divorce and singledom stigmas. And there's the universal theme of maybe strangers are strange, but maybe they are just like you and me.

Sounds like a lot to cram into 100 minutes with no intermission and a limited set, but it's so beautifully woven all together that "Come From Away" is like a tapestry: all warm and cozy, while being a work of art at the same time.

The national tour of the show is playing at the Arsht Center, and you'll be sorry you missed this one. A musical like this doesn't come around that often.

For the first time in history, U.S. Airspace was closed for all commercial aircraft, resulting in the rerouting of international flights arriving to the United States on that fateful day. Canada stepped up and welcome U.S. planes into their airspace. "Come From Away," the 2017 Tony Award winner, focuses on the tiny Newfoundland town of Gander, where 38 planes were diverted carrying nearly 7,000 passengers just a few thousand people less than Gander's population itself.

Creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein tell countless stories of the "plane people" as the Newfoundlanders name them, and the townspeople themselves, but what's incredible is the multiple characters the audience meets using only 12 actors.

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These folks lives are shown as pretty ordinary just before they get word of their visitors from all over. There's the schoolteacher, the animal loving SPCA worker, an air traffic controller who works at the Gander airport, and the mayor who goes to Tim Horton's for his Pepsi each morning. The town has its own set of troubles, including the head of the bus driver's union who is arguing with the mayor about a strike.

But the Ganderers are close knit and they are proud of their heritage and the opening number, "Welcome To The Rock" proves this allegiance.

Then they get word and they spring into action. The planes are arriving, and they are ready and willing to meet the "Come from aways." Seamlessly, the actors vis a vis townspeople are now the plane passengers and you are brought into that world, the people on the tarmac not knowing why or what is happening on the outside, not able to leave a plane for 28 hours.

As they peer out the window, they see an airport that looks like it's been lost in time.

It is quite a tour de force for each actor in the tight-knit ensemble who have to change roles so swiftly, many having to turn on a dime in a totally different direction, and all having to not miss a beat when they have to adapt to a very broad and specific Canadian accent.

Hialeah born actor Nick Duckart is in this production. And what a Broadway tour debut. He's certainly up to the task of the demands this show puts on its actors. Duckart plays one of the townspeople but also has a role as one half of a gay couple who are both named Kevin, with many comic moments. Then, he's also an Egyptian man named Ali who ends up being suspect by those aboard his plane when the passengers eventually find out why they've been diverted.

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And as fit for the task as Duckart is, the entire cast are all amazingly adept at creating these two worlds. You must be a helluva an actor to be up for the challenge of "Come From Away."

Emily Walton is Janice, the TV reporter whose first day of her new job gives her one of the biggest stories to cover. She says in the Newfoundlander drawl: "Tam Brokeow called. Tam Brokeow," she exudes. Translated: NBC's Tom Brokaw spoke to her about what had happened in Gander. The real Brokaw did do a mini documentary about Gander.

There's the Texan divorcee Diane (an extremely likeable Christine Toy Johnson) who finds an unusual romance blooming with plane mate, the British engineer, Nick. Chamblee Ferguson aces the role. The other Kevin in the gay couple is played by Andrew Samonsky. The crisis so many miles away puts their relationship in crisis, but Samonsky shows how his character has been changed through it, as well.

Pilot Beverly tells the story of her climb to the top "Me and the Sky" and Becky Gulsvig soars in the solo. Danielle K. Thomas as worried mother Hannah, puts her heart and soul into the touching ballad "I Am Here," wishing she wasn't so far away from her firefighter son and not knowing his fate. Megan McGinnis is perfectly earnest as the animal loving small-town girl of Gander, who is willing to risk it all to board the plane to rescue cats, dogs, and a pregnant Bonobo chimp.

James Earl Jones II (the actor is not that James Earl Jones son, but is his third cousin) doubles as an African whose barrier is language, and also as Bob, a native New Yorker who doesn't trust the kindness of the townspeople, guarding his wallet when he's invited to stay at one of the mayor's houses.

Harter Clingman is the local policeman who embodies a Barney Fife type persona and what it means to be a cop in a town of 9,000. Julie Johnson as the schoolteacher who organizes the Gander Academy is full-on spunk and energy as Beulah, and Kevin Carolan as Gander's mayor leads the rousing indoctrination of the "come from aways" who must kiss a codfish, one of the show's funniest moments.

"Come From Away" has a gift in its storytelling, and how it takes a slice of life and shows a transformation. It takes one of the most darkest times in history and takes it out of the darkness, to quote lyrics from the show's "Darkness and Trees,"

Don't rush out of the theater during the curtain call; stick around as the wonderfully talented band of on-stage musicians come out for a bit of a mini concert, which heightens the absolutely beauty of the show's lively Celtic-flavored folk-rock score.

"Come From Away" from Broadway Across America runs through June 23 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Performances 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 1 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday. For information, visit arshtcenter.org.