La Jolla Playhouse’s world-premiere musical “Come from Away” took home six awards in a Feb. 8 ceremony honoring the best in local theater from 2015. The production won Outstanding New Musical and Outstanding Director of a Musical for La Jolla Playhouse artistic director Christopher Ashley, among other awards. The awards ceremony took place at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla, at which 33 awards were given out for 18 productions. The Craig Noel Awards, named after the late founding artistic director of The Old Globe, are voted on by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle, composed of 10 local theater critics who meet monthly to discuss local theater. James Hebert, theater critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune, is a member. He said “Come From Away” was unusual in both story and presentation. It’s about the small town of Gander, Newfoundland. Immediately after 9/11, planes were rerouted to land there, so the town was overwhelmed with strangers. “A Canadian married couple adapted this real-life story into a musical with music from the local traditions in Newfoundland,” Hebert said. “So it was really different sounding, different looking, and a really cool story.” Intrepid Theatre Company won Outstanding Dramatic Production for “The Quality of Life,” Jane Anderson’s play about assisted suicide. Intrepid CEO and producing artistic director Christy Yael-Cox directed and won Outstanding Direction of a Play. “Come From Away” and “The Quality of Life” shared the top prizes for Outstanding Ensemble performances. Awards for a body of work went to Delicia Turner Sonnenberg for Director of the Year. In 2015, she directed San Diego Repertory Theatre’s “My Mañana Comes” and productions of “Trouble in Mind” and “The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence,” both at MOXIE Theatre, where she is artistic director. Actor of the Year awards went to Sylvia M’Lafi Thompson and Jeffrey Jones. For a complete list of awards, see sdcriticscircle.org. — KPBS