Directed by Thomas Caruso, the new musical features a book and lyrics by Dan Collins and music by Julianne Wick Davis.

Based on Kate Davis’ 2001 Sundance Award-winning documentary, Southern Comfort was conceived for the stage by Robert DuSold and Caruso. It tells the true story of a group of transgender friends living life on their own terms in rural Georgia. The Public describes it as "a celebration of redefining family and choosing love over every obstacle."

Performances will begin Feb. 23, 2016, and will run through March 27. An official opening night is scheduled for March 7.

"Southern Comfort is a beautiful, gentle, complicated look at a community that has been maligned, misunderstood, and oppressed for centuries," said artistic director Oskar Eustis in a press statement. "We are proud to present this groundbreaking and moving piece of theater."

Winner of the Jonathan Larson Award, the show received its BSC Musical Theatre Lab world-premiere production at Barrington Stage Company in 2013, preceded by the NAMT 2012 Festival of New Musicals, and a developmental reading at Playwrights Horizons in 2010. In casting for the Off-Broadway staging, the Public Theater has encouraged transgender artists to contact the casting department by emailing [email protected] with a picture and resume or bio, along with any video/audio performance samples, if available.

Southern Comfort will feature scenic design by James J. Fenton, costume design by Patricia E. Doherty, lighting design by Ed McCarthy, sound design by Andrew Keister and choreography by Ryan Kasprzak.

Performances will take place in the Public’s Anspacher Theater, located at 425 Lafayette St., New York. Single tickets will be available early December by visiting PublicTheater.org or calling (212) 967-7555.