The play was first staged 1984 at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, and opened on Broadway on March 27, 1988, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre—running for 105 performances.

A Broadway revival directed by Bartlett Sher opened at the Belasco Theatre on March 19, 2009 in previews and officially on April 16, closing June 14 after 69 performances.

Joe Turner's Come and Gone is set in the second decade of the 20th century and chronicles the lives of a few freed former enslaved African Americans in the North and deals with the conflicts of racism and discrimination.

They also talk about Jeremy, a young man staying in the boardinghouse, getting arrested the night before for supposedly being drunk in public.

Selig leaves and Jeremy enters, and after getting a scolding from Seth, he tells him that the white cops came and picked him up for no reason and that he was, in fact, not drunk at all.

After Seth shows them to their room, Jeremy relates a story about his guitar-playing abilities and how he is wary of playing for white men or money because of a bad experience.

Bynum tells her that he can only bind people that wish to be bound; that she is better off just letting him find his own path in life.

The group has just finished eating dinner when Seth suggests they "juba"- an African-style call-and-response song and dance.

Jeremy returns to the house from work and reveals to Seth that he would not give a white foreman 50 cents to keep his job so he was fired.

Bynum reveals that he knew all along that Loomis was taken away by Joe Turner and that he needs to find his song in order to start his life again.

Loomis relates his story to Bynum and Seth, telling them that he was taken by Joe Turner's men while trying to preach to some gambling African Americans.

Reuben tells Zonia that he has seen the ghost of Seth's mother earlier that morning and she made him keep his promise to Eugene and release the pigeons.

The stage directions read "Having found his song, the song of self-sufficiency, fully resurrected, cleansed and given breath, free from any encumbrance other than the workings of his own heart and the bonds of the flesh, having accepted the responsibility for his own presence in the world, he is free to soar above the environs that weighed and pushed his spirit into terrifying contractions."

Joe Turner, the brother of the governor of Tennessee, would kidnap black men and force them into labor on his chain gang for seven years.

Seth Holly - Born of free African-American parents in the North, he is set in his ways; never losing his composure and always running a respectable house.

He is economically very capitalistic and does whatever is necessary to stay afloat; including working night shifts and odd craftsman jobs he can pick up from Selig.

[5] Bertha Holly - As Seth's wife, She knows her place in the hierarchy of the boardinghouse, yet still has some say in the decision making and will often voice her opinion.

[5] Rutherford Selig - This suspicion of a white peddler perpetuates the mistrust between the races in the North and histories repetition.

Jeremy's "blues playing" character is classified as a suave, artist young man looking to make a quick buck and travel the nation.

Even as an adolescent, Reuben is aware of his place in society, notices the spiritual differences of people around him, and decides at a very early age that he needs a woman that he can find in end to settle down with and marry.

Many of the ideals that are seen in the adult characters of this play are instilled in Reuben and will repeat, the good and the bad, as he grows into adulthood.

By illegally kidnapping Black men, Turner represents the evil of the Southern, racist white man.

At that point the law would fall upon the poor devils, arrest as many as were needed for work, try them for gambling in a kangaroo court and then turn the culprits over to Joe Turney.

If one of them chanced to ask a neighbor what had become of the sweet good man, she was likely to receive the pat reply, 'They tell me Joe Turner's come and gone.'"

[10] Much like the style of the play, the language used in Joe Turner is realistic in nature and depicts that of the dialogue of the day.

And according to Anne Fleche, there is a lack of suspense or surprise in the dialogue and the comfort of the language of the characters encourages the theme of reoccurring, oppressing experiences.

In the beginning of the play he is referred to as spilling the blood of the pigeons and has interesting, different good luck charms and untraditional remedies.

[13] In this way the play structure follows the realism genre in that it depicts real life on stage, with everyday activities being performed; like cooking, cleaning, etc.

The words can be improvised, but should include some mention of the Holy Ghost.This song is a way for the African Americans to relate with one another and continue their relationship with their heritage.

[16] Later, for its press review, it opened on March 26, 1988, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in New York City, with the following cast: The director was Lloyd Richards.