Bringing together musicologists, literature scholars, and specialists in childhood and theater studies, this volume examines the ways in which successful children's musicals tap into adult nostalgia for childhood while appealing to the needs and consumer potential of the child. The contributors take up a wide range of musicals, including productions inspired by the works of children's authors such as Roald Dahl, L. Frank Baum, and Dr. Seuss; created by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lionel Bart, and other leading lights of musical theater; or conceived for a cast made up entirely of children....