The musical couldn’t be timelier. Set in rural Georgia, it deals in the issue of transgender, which is very much in the news these days. “Southern Comfort” has heartfelt acting, and songs that build upon the relationships and have a regional twang while not typical bluegrass. Part of the charm is that the events depicted are taking place in Georgia, not in an urban northern city. The documentary looked into real-life relationships, and one feels reality watching the musical.

The overall impact stems from seeing people who are determined to be who they feel they are, and they have found common ground in a group that gathers regularly and is tightly knit.

Annette O’Toole brilliantly plays Robert, slightly built and looking every bit a man, but who once was Barbara. We learn early on that Robert has fatal ovarian cancer, so ironic given his gender change. He is in love with Jeff McCarthy as Lola, still very masculine looking even wearing women’s clothing in tune with her transformation. They are an odd couple, the towering Lola with the diminutive Robert, but they convey intense feeling for one another that comes across as very genuine and touching. The casting was done with an eye toward getting actors who look as close as possible to the real Robert and Lola.

There is pathos in doctors shunning Robert, who is in a race with time to accomplish what he wants to with respect to relationships and addressing an important convention before his death. The various cast members playing the assortment of characters in Robert’s life are excellent, and the theme of we are who we are and proud of it gets excellent treatment throughout.

The staging emphasizes closeness, with the talented musicians also singing and having roles as storytellers. The production is seductive, drawing us into the transgender world and eliciting respect and sympathy for the characters living according to their deeply felt identities.