The award-winning musical “Come From Away” lands in Jackson, Mississippi, at a time when its true, uplifting story of cross-border bonds and international unity may feel more like a relic of days gone by. Perfect timing to inspire the hope and connection that is at the show’s heart, cast members say.

New Stage Theatre is among the first regional theaters, and first in the Southeast, to mount a production of the hit Broadway musical, which ended its North American tour just weeks ago. Performances are May 27-June 8.

The musical is based on actual events in the immediate aftermath of the shocking tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the shut down of U.S. airspace forced hundreds of planes to divert to Canada. Thirty-eight flights were forced to land in Gander in Newfoundland, a small town facing the sudden influx of about 7,000 people stranded far from home. Their hospitality and volunteer efforts are at the core of a joyous musical.

“Come From Away” unfolds in storyteller fashion, as an ensemble cast of 12 morphs into some 50 characters in dozens of scenes over the fast-paced musical’s 90-minute run time. The Celtic-inspired folk rock score links to Newfoundland’s musical heritage, and scrims hand-painted by Scenic Designer Braden Graves evoke the province’s landscape. A dozen chairs and a few tables are about the only props, as the actors, through costume bits, accents, physicality and sheer skill, sweep audiences along.

The custom motorized and programmable turntable on stage, newly engineered and built from scratch by the theater’s production team, keeps the story in motion. At 24 feet in diameter at its max, the turntable also adds a significant asset to New Stage’s drama toolkit, available for future productions and possible rental. “The stars aligned for me this season” and for this show, Technical Director Richard Lawrence said, with a crew that included three welders and an engineer. He chuckled, recalling nightly worries whether it would work. Once they mounted it, he rounded up a dozen crew members to stand on it, to test. “We turned it. And it worked. And I cried,” he said, laughing in relief.

About a week before opening night, actors had just finished a run-through, but had yet to experience their first “ride-through” on the turntable set. “This is magic!” veteran actor Ray McFarland (here in his 51st New Stage show) gushed as he eyed the stage’s new feature. “I’ve never seen this except on, like, Broadway — this big of a turntable. Hats off to the tech crew.”

With the emotional peaks and valleys of “Come From Away,” fresh in mind, actors reflected on memories and feelings its stories call up, from the anguish and scary confusion of the 9/11 attacks to the way this fleshes out a historical event some were too young to understand in the moment.

Actor John Howell saw the Broadway production, the same day he visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in 2018. “It really brought it to life in a way that a museum can’t do, because it was the personal stories of these people who actually experienced this — all these different points of view … and all of them have different reactions and needs and losses. Very powerful.”

Actor Hosea Griffith, a French Elementary first-grader in 2001, said the news arrived just after students finished their Pledge of Allegiance and “You’re a Grand Old Flag” morning routine. The principal told teachers to turn on their TVs. He saw the adults slump, their energy evaporate. “The whole mood of class and of that day — the life was sucked out of it.”

For Lauren Parkinson, 2 at the time with no firsthand memory of 9/!!, “This show has revealed a lot to me about that day that I could never learn from watching videos on YouTube. … This is making it real for me in a brand new way.”

McFarland, who had returned to Jackson after a 15-year stint in New York, thought of people he knew who worked in the Word Trade Center and had the searing thought, “We’re at war.” 

“If you’re old enough to remember, it will grab you in a very personal moment,” he said of the show. “You will remember things that happened that day, as clear as a bell. It will also help you remember all of the good that came out of it, because, as we watched on the TV, the world came to take care of us. We took care of each other, and that’s what this show is about.”

The show is more about the aftermath of 9/11, and how people banded together and coped. Many times, people cope with humor, “and there’s some stuff in this show that’s just downright funny,” McFarland noted.

“You have all these people from all these cultures from all around the world stuck here in this teeny tiny Canadian town, and it’s hilarious what happens because of that,” Parkinson said.

The musical lands in Jackson at a time when President Trump’s musing about Canada as a 51st state, tariff talks and more in recent months has eroded relations between the two nations. It delivers real-life historical perspective and a reminder of the healing power of strong bonds that can last years.

“It could not be at a better time,” McFarland said. “We need to take care of each other and come together more than we have in decades right now.”

“I think this show might be a tonic to audiences,” Howell said. “It might be something that they need right now.”

Said McFarland: “It’s not just about taking care of each other, personally. It’s about taking care of America. We took care of America back then.”

“And Canada helped us,” Howell was quick to add. 

“On the individual level, people care about each other,” he said. “Whatever their political leanings may be and where that takes them, when it comes down to the wire and people are in a crisis, they will come to each other’s aid, regardless of where they live, regardless of who they’re having to assist.”

Griffith said, “People just see humanity on that stage, just humanity, and realize that there is humanity in all of us. And though we are different, we’re not too much different.”

Performance times are: 7 p.m. May 27-31 and June 3-7; 1 p.m. June 4; and 2 p.m. June 1 and 8. Tickets are $50 adults, $45 seniors/students/military. Visit newstagetheatre.com, email tickets@newstageheatre.com or call 601-948-3533. The theater is located at 1100 Carlisle St. in Jackson.