Max Chernin fell in love with the music from “Parade” before he knew the heartbreaking story behind the songs.

“(Character) Leo (Frank’s) first act big song, ‘It’s Hard to Speak My Heart,’ was something I used to sing with my voice teacher,” Chernin told the Boston Herald. “So ‘Parade’ came into my life, but only in its recorded form. It was on my radar, but it was hard to get the context of the show from the recording.”

Chernin gets the context now.

Playing lead character Leo Frank, Chernin understands how the songs and story come together in “Parade” to explore the past and present’s struggle to overcome xenophobia, antisemitism and violent vigilantism. At the Emerson Colonial Theater March 11 to 23, “Parade” tells the true story of Frank, a Jewish New Yorker living in Atlanta in 1913 who is falsely accused of killing a 13-year-old girl who worked at the factory he managed.

“Parade’s” original Broadway run in the ’90s won two Tonys, but it didn’t capture the zeitgeist and wasn’t a smash outside of theater circles. But the 2023 revival, which won two Tonys as well, resonates more deeply today.

“The mirror that it holds up now is really focused,” Chernin said. “What’s sticking with me the most out of anything in the show is how the media and propaganda influenced this community. Social media didn’t exist in the ’90s. What’s amazing to me is how today people can galvanize hate through social media. (It’s similar) to how the papers of (1913) were just selling, selling, selling based on finding a common enemy.”

Without giving away too much, there is an immense amount of pain and injustice in “Parade.” And being a depiction of a real tragedy, it can be a lot for the actors to carry night after night, from city to city.

“We are the keepers of this story right now,” Chernin said. “It would be really easy for me to spend this entire run wallowing in pain. But the other side is honoring his story and bringing this part of American history that’s often overlooked to a broader audience.”

As difficult as it is to tell Frank’s tale, it comes with sublime songs. The reason Chernin fell for “Parade,” the reason any piece of musical theater is a success, is the songs.

“The trial itself is like 20 minutes of back to back songs, and viewing an event like a trial as something that is musical is just genius,” Chernin said. “Within the interior love story between my character and (wife) Lucille, we are having trouble communicating in our scenes and the relationship finally opens up when we are able to sing to each other. The way (the show) uses the music to enhance the story is just so rare to see.”

Which is something Chernin can see so clearly now,  years after the voice lessons where he first fell in love with “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart.”

For tickets and details, visit emersoncolonialtheatre.com