Conceived and created by Twyla Tharp, the musical tells the story of a generation of American youth growing up on Long Island during the 1960s and their experiences with the Vietnam War.

Instead, all the vocals are performed by a pianist (the "Piano Man", representing Billy Joel) and band suspended on a platform above the stage while the dancers act out the songs' lyrics, basically making the show a rock ballet.

Darren Holden was the primary lead Piano Man and star for the entire run of the tour, understudied by Matt Wilson (2004), Charlie Neshyba-Hodges (2004), James Fox (2005) and Matthew Friedman (2006).

The West End production opened on April 10, 2006, at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre where, despite receiving mostly solid reviews, it ran for less than two months, closing on May 2, 2006.

[3] A third National Tour opened in La Crosse, Wisconsin on November 4, 2008, with Matthew Friedman, Kyle Martin, and Jon Abrams in the lead role of Piano Man.