WELCOME TO THE ROCK. Menomonie Theater Guild's inaugural show for the 2026-2027 season, "Come From Away," will begin the weekend of Oct. 9-11 and continue through Oct. 16-18 at the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts. This musical tells the true story of stranded airline passengers who arrived to Gander, Newfoundland amid the wake of terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.

When Menomonie Theater Guild (MTG) board members learned performance rights for the Tony Award-winning musical “Come From Away” were opening up this year, Director Carol Diser-Ropella was the first to raise her hand for the opportunity to bring this show to local audiences.

The Guild’s response? Take a leap and honor the 25-year anniversary and true story of a tight-knit community which reshaped the public's understanding of compassion in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy.

“Come From Away,” the inaugural production for MTG’s 2026-2027 season, will be performed on the weekends of Oct. 9-11 and 16-18 at the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts (205 Main St. E., Menomonie).

The multi-award winning musical – with original music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein – tells the true story of 7,000 stranded airline passengers who were welcomed by a small community in the northeastern part of Canada.

What began as an ordinary day in Gander, Newfoundland, transformed into an unexpected mass gathering when dozens of commercial aircrafts were forced to land in the small town’s airstrip in the wake of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

“I’ve never come across anything like ‘Come From Away.’ ”

carol Diser-Ropella

menomonie theater guild director, “Come From Away”

Together over the course of the production, characters overcome language barriers and cultural differences through song and emotive scenes.

“Luckily for us, many of the real life characters are still alive and often still attending performances of ‘Come From Away’ or welcoming people to Gander and giving interviews,” Diser-Ropella said. “It’s really exciting to get to learn about these real life people; we’ve spent a chunk of time on dialect and accents.”

The forthcoming “Come From Away” production features an extensive roster of storylines – a new challenge for ensemble members who portray multiple roles throughout the show, Diser-Ropella said.

Its casting choices, she said, allows each actor to literally “stand in those shoes” of both the people who were in need and the people who reached out to help them.

Select characters in "Come From Away," Diser-Ropella said, are returning home to difficult realities. Some are New Yorkers who will find their city forever changed by the Sept. 11 tragedy, while others find it hard to leave Gander because they have fallen in love with its generous community.

“There are so many characters. It’s really a rich story,” Diser-Ropella said. “You might see some doubling in Shakespearean plays, where actors play more than one character – or they play a character who is then disguised as another character.

“But I’ve never come across anything like ‘Come From Away.’ ”

To help ensure these role swaps appear seamless, costumer Apryl Price and choreographer Alex Hall have worked diligently to coordinate all 20 of the show’s rapid scene changes. 

When the MTG's upcoming production opens this October, both cast and crew hopes audiences will leave the theater with one profound call to action: Remember the times others have been kind and actively seek out opportunities to share that generosity with others.

The Menomonie Theater Guild's “Come From Away” production will begin Oct. 9-11 and continue through Oct. 16-18. Tickets on sale now ($25 for adults; $23 for students/seniors/military) via menomonietheaterguild.org or the Menomonie Theater Guild Box Office (502 West Second St., Menomonie).