Set in the fictional French town of DuTemps in September 1918, shortly before the end of World War I, its protagonist is Private Johnny Perkins, whose mission is to defuse a bomb intended to destroy the entire village.

All the local residents have fled, leaving behind only the cheerful inmates of the insane asylum, who happily take over the town and proclaim Johnny their King of Hearts.

New York City was in the midst of a three-month-long newspaper strike when the musical opened, and the lack of advertising and print reviews might have contributed to its quick demise.

Of it, musical theatre historian Ken Mandelbaum recalls, "its score was only so-so; its theme (the insane are somehow "saner" than the sane) had a '60s feel; and its cast was not particularly distinctive.

[4] In 2002 the Goodspeed revival, directed by Gabriel Barre, used the script as the authors, librettist Steve Tesich[5] and songwriters Link and Brackman first intended, before other "doctors" were brought in.