Character guide
Claude
from Come From Away
Claude is the mayor of Gander, Newfoundland, portrayed in Come From Away, the 2017 musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein.
- Show
- Come From Away
- Broadway premiere
- 2017
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Sankoff & Hein
Looking for a different Claude? Claude in Hair
Claude: role facts
- Originated on Broadway by
- Joel Hatch (2017)
- Notable performers
- Kevin Carolan played Claude on the first North American tour, and Clive Carter in the 2019 West End production.
- Voice type and range
- Baritone
- Songs Claude sings
- Welcome to the Rock (with company)
- Screech In (with company)
Who is Claude?
Claude is depicted as the town's mayor, the local official who has to organize Gander's response as thousands of stranded air travelers suddenly need housing, food, and care in the days after September 11, 2001. Practical and community minded, he helps coordinate the town's improvised, generous effort to look after the so called plane people.
His role reflects the real logistical challenge Gander faced, turning schools, community centers, and private homes into shelter almost overnight, and he embodies the show's portrait of small town leadership rising to an unexpected crisis.
Claude's role in Come From Away
Claude is a supporting role within the show's twelve person ensemble, in which each performer plays multiple characters, both Gander locals and stranded passengers, requiring quick physical and vocal transformations between roles.
As with all of the show's ensemble tracks, the actor originating Claude also played passenger roles across the same performance, a hallmark of Come From Away's lean, transformation driven staging style.
Claude: frequently asked questions
Who is Claude based on in Come From Away?
Claude is based on Claude Elliott, who was mayor of Gander, Newfoundland, from 1996 to 2017, including on September 11, 2001. He helped coordinate buses, housing, phones, and food for the roughly 6,600 stranded passengers and crew who landed in a town of fewer than 10,000 people.
Who originated the role of Claude on Broadway?
Joel Hatch originated the role of Claude when Come From Away opened on Broadway in 2017, one of the show's twelve ensemble performers who each play multiple Gander and passenger characters.
Has the real Claude Elliott seen the musical?
Yes. Elliott saw Come From Away during its 2016 run at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., before the show reached Broadway. That October he also spoke at a dinner in Gander honoring the cast, who then gave two concert performances for the town.
What show is Claude from?
Claude is a supporting character in Come From Away, which opened in 2017.
Is Claude a lead or supporting role?
Claude is a supporting role.
Who wrote the music for Come From Away?
Irene Sankoff and David Hein wrote the music, lyrics, and book together.
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