[1] Set in the US city of Lenox, Massachusetts, at the end of World War I, the musical tells the story of a writer turned aviator who wins the hand of the high society girl that he loves by his daring handling of the joystick of a biplane.

The musical was produced by George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris and, after tryouts from November 15, 1917, in Atlantic City, New Jersey,[2] it opened on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre in New York on December 25, 1917.

[7] In the meantime, Going Up was introduced to British audiences in Manchester, England, from May 13, 1918,[5] before transferring to the Gaiety Theatre in London, opening on May 22, 1918, and running for an even more successful 574 performances.

The director was Gile, and the choreographer was Dan Siretta (who was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his work), with sets by Edward Haynes, costumes by David Toser and lighting by Peter M. Ehrhardt.

The production starred Brad Blaisdell as Robert and featured Pat Lysinger (Miss Zonne), Stephen Bray (John), Kimberly Farr (Grace), Michael Tartel (Jules), Walter Bobbie (Hopkinson), Maureen Brennan (Madeleine), Noel Craig (James) and Ronn Robinson (Sam).

[14] At the Gordon Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, bestselling author Robert Street is very popular and has an ego to match, pretending that writing a book about flying makes one a pilot; he has never been in a plane.

His girlfriend Grace, whose parents would rather see her marry French flying ace Jules Gaillard, also thinks this is a good idea, as it would impress her father.