The book was adapted into a coming-of-age musical, set in the 1950s, with music by James Quinn and Alaric Jans, in 1979. A hit, the musical ran for four-and-a-half years, becoming the longest-running show in the city's history. It then broke house records during two runs in Philadelphia. It was the longest-running musical in Michigan for a time, playing popular engagements at the Birmingham Theatre, a Nederlander winter stock house.