Struggling to fit into their old lives while dealing with the lingering effects of the war – including post-traumatic stress and survivor's guilt – they form a band composed solely of veterans to compete in a national patriotic radio contest in New York City.

The original production of Bandstand, directed by Andy Blankenbuehler and starring Laura Osnes, Corey Cott and Beth Leavel, premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn in October 2015 and opened on Broadway on April 26, 2017, closing on September 17, 2017.

[5] The musical, once again titled Bandstand, premiered on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on April 26, 2017, after starting previews on March 31, with Osnes and Cott and direction and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.

[13] A US tour opened October 29, 2019 in College Station, Texas, starring Jennifer Elizabeth Smith as Julia Trojan and Zack Zaromatidis as Donny Novitski.

With a statewide competition to win first, Donny puts his band together: Jimmy Campbell on saxophone and clarinet, Davy Zlatic on bass, Nick Radel on trumpet, Wayne Wright on trombone, and Johnny Simpson on drums ("I Know a Guy").

Following their first performance ("Ain't We Proud"), Donny makes good on a promise to check in on Julia Trojan, the young widow of the man who had been his best friend in the war, Michael.

Inspired by Julia's take on post-war life, Donny composes a melody for one of her poems that he is convinced will win them the preliminary in Ohio which guarantees them a slot on the final broadcast in New York City.

The Ohio broadcast is in full swing ("Dwight Anson & Jean Ann"), as the Donny Nova Band featuring Julia Trojan takes the stage with "Love Will Come and Find Me Again".

After deep reflection, Julia returns to Donny with a new poem as an apology, which paints a raw and truthful portrait of Donny and the Band members: Johnny was severely injured and suffers from chronic pain, amnesia, and cognitive issues; Nick was a prisoner of war, giving him anger and trust issues; Davy liberated Dachau and has turned to alcohol and humor to cope with the memories; Wayne suffers from mental illness (likely OCD), meaning his children no longer recognize him and his marriage breaks down; Jimmy is gay and his partner died in combat, and he now focuses on his law studies to avoid letting anybody in on his terrible loss; Donny is an insomniac who is experiencing survivor's guilt after the death of Michael, Julia's husband.

Refusing to allow their military service to be sentimentalized and exploited by the contest promoters, and unwilling to give away the rights to his song, Donny convinces the band to make the riskiest choice of all, and fight for themselves, and he and Julia kiss ("This is Life (Reprise)").

Live on air for the entire country to hear, the band stages a virtual coup d'état of the broadcast as Julia sings every brutally honest word of her original poem ("Welcome Home (Finale)").

In an "Epilogue", a year later, the Donny Nova Band featuring Julia Trojan find themselves to be celebrated stars, with sold-out New York concerts and a nationwide tour.