Stranger-than-fiction category: Robert Eads was a self-described “hillbilly and proud of it,” living in “Bubba-land” among good ol’ boys who never guessed he was transgendered. Kate Davis’ 2001 film documented his life and the surprising trans community of rural Georgia, and now it comes to the stage in a world-premiere musical from Barrington Stage Company’s Musical Theatre Lab. Southern Comfort stars Annette O’Toole as Eads and Jeff McCarthy as his trans girlfriend, Lola Cola. The score by Julianne Wick Davis, says the Lab’s director William Finn, “mines the country’s heart, from contemporary country to Appalachian bluegrass,” paired with Dan Collins’ script about “transformation, love and redefining family.”

Through Aug. 10 on BSC’s St. Germain Stage, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield,(413) 236-8888, www.barringtonstageco.org.