Billy Bishop Goes to War

Billy Bishop Goes to War
Music	John MacLachlan Gray
Lyrics	John MacLachlan Gray Eric Peterson
Book	John MacLachlan Gray Eric Peterson
Basis	Life of Billy Bishop
Productions	1978 Vancouver 1978 Canadian tour 1988 Canadian tour 1980 Broadway and Off Broadway 2009 Toronto production 2010 Saskatoon

Billy Bishop Goes to War is a Canadian musical, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with the actor Eric Peterson. One of the most famous and widely produced plays in Canadian theatre, it dramatizes the life of Canadian World War I fighter pilot Billy Bishop. The collaborative rehearsals took place in stage designer Paul Williams' studio in Toronto.

The play premiered at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 3, 1978. Peterson played 18 different characters, and Gray accompanied on piano and vocals. The original production toured across Canada, and also was staged in Washington, DC, both on Broadway and off-Broadway in New York City, at the Edinburgh Festival, in Los Angeles and at the Comedy Theatre in London. During the international tour, a second production, starring Cedric Smith with musical accompaniment by Ross Douglas, continued touring across Canada.

The libretto was published in 1981 by Talonbooks.

The show was produced on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre. Previews began on May 22, 1980. It opened on May 29, 1980 and closed on June 7, 1980. It ran for 12 performances and 7 previews. It then moved to Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre from June 17, 1980 to August 24, 1980.

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