Based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones, the musical made its West End and world premiere in 2013, at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London.

Once it was, composer Stuart Brayson thought it might be adapted as a musical, and proposed the project to Tim Rice, who acquired the stage rights and wrote the lyrics.

The West End production stars Darius Campbell as Warden, Robert Lonsdale as Private Prewitt, and Ryan Sampson as Maggio.

[14] It focuses on the lives of a group of soldiers in the months leading up to the attack,[15] in particular Private Prewitt, a boxer who no longer wants to fight having blinded an opponent, and Sergeant Milt Warden, who has an affair with the wife of his commanding officer.

[19] Jones fought the censorship but had to back down;[17] despite this it won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1952[20] and is recognised as one of the twentieth century's best American novels.

[21] Two years later in 1953, it was adapted into a film starring Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed and Ernest Borgnine[22] which achieved success at the box office and won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

[23] The movie was also initially deemed controversial because of the source text's critical views on the Army, with minor changes being made to the script to gain the military's co-operation.

[33] Darius Campbell who played First Sergeant Milt Warden, said that the "James Jones novel really portrayed homosexuality and prostitution in the way that it existed in those days and we've dived in head first.

[44] Former US Marine Ray Elliott, also head of the James Jones literary society, was hired to ensure an accurate picture of military life for the era.

Elliott read the script to ensure it was realistic, ran military drills, taught the cast how to salute all ranks and how to hold rifles correctly.

[56][57] To mark the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 2013,[58] the cast joined with The Military Wives choir for a special post curtain rendition of the song "The Boys of '41".

[62] This production was significantly different from the original West End one, with a completely rewritten book and lots of changes made to the musical numbers, since the female ensemble was cut and the cast size reduced.

[64] The musical uses a fifteen-member orchestra consisting of keyboard, cello, ukulele, flute, saxophone, clarinet, flugelhorn, trumpet, bugle, trombone, tuba, French horn, guitar, bass, drums, percussion and harmonica.

[71] Michael Billington of The Guardian noted that the original novel had helped offset overly heroic images of the American soldier, but in the wake of Abu Ghraib, the view of the military was already mixed, "why now, and what does music add to the story?

"[74] Simon Edge of the Daily Express deemed the show "a commendably ambitious work that makes a refreshing addition to the West End menu.

[9] Taylor praised the music: "Brayson's catchy score, which moves deftly through swing, blues, jazz and early rock'n'roll can rise to good old showbiz brassiness when needed".

[9] Henry Hitchings of the Evening Standard gave a mixed view of the music, "There are seductive melodies and a couple of genuinely catchy songs.