The South Canterbury Drama League is inviting audiences of its upcoming musical to pay it forward just like the characters on stage.

Come From Away is a musical based on true events that happened in the Newfoundland town of Gander following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center  on September 11, 2001.

Thirty-eight planes carrying about 7000 airline passengers were ordered to land in the small Canadian town after United States airspace was closed.

The musical tells the story of how members of the Gander community rallied together to care for those stranded in the town in a time of crisis.

Marketing manager Jill de Joux said audience members were encouraged to donate small toiletry items that would then be donated to the Family Works Foodbank after the last show of the season.

"The people that arrived in Gander weren’t allowed to take their suitcases off the plane, so they had nothing. People in the town donated them items like toilet paper, toothbrushes, soaps and shampoos and I thought that’s a really good connection.

"There’s this ripple effect of kindness to strangers in times of trouble. We thought we could do our own ripple effect and encourage people to donate toiletry items to strangers in their time of need.

"Even if we only get five items a show that would still be 60 items and that would be wonderful.”

She said when the amateur licence for the show became available in New Zealand, it was a no-brainer to stage it.

"When I first saw it I was absolutely engaged, I thought it was brilliant. There’s just this heartwarming, uplifting side to it, it’s an emotional roller-coaster.

"It's only a few years out, it's gone round the world and it's been an absolute smash hit, so we really wanted to do it.

"It just fits for today when everything is so divisive. At the moment we really want to do shows that are uplifting, funny and entertaining.”

Audiences can expect to both laugh and cry, she said.

"The show is really fast-paced, so it never lets you sit in the sad moments for very long. It moves you forward into something else that's happening that's funny or humorous or interesting.

"There's only 13 actors, they're on stage the whole time and it's a really intimate experience with the audience.

"The cast is absolutely relating to the story, loving telling the story, and is honoured to tell the story. They all really want to do a good job, and everyone is working their butts off, it's going to be a great show."

It may also be the last big musical held at the Playhouse with Ms de Joux hoping the Theatre Royal may be back in action for next year’s production.

She said the show ran for about an hour and 40 minutes, had no half-time and was suitable for ages 10 and up.

"It does move really fast so for kids under 10, unless they’re really into musical theatre, they probably won't understand what's happening.

"We're also encouraging people to stay after, because people may want to talk about the show and their experiences with the subject matter. The bar will be open and there will be the opportunity to talk to the cast.

"I’ve said to the cast that there will be a lot of people in the audience that will have all sorts of stories about their experiences with 9/11.”

The show runs for 12 performances between July 24 and August 8.

Tickets are available for purchase from the iTicket website.