LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD: THREE MUSICALS BY JOHN GRAY. Gray, John Vancouver, Talonbooks, 1987. 206pp, paper, $11.95, ISSN 0-88922-248-7. CIP. Grades 9 and up Reviewed by Bessie Egan Volume 17 Number 1 1989 January Gray, a well-known author and musician for stage and screen who is best known as the author of Billy Bishop Goes to War,* which won the 1982 Governor General's Award for drama, has provided a compilation of three of his musicals. These include 18 Wheels, a. play about truckers; Rock and Roll, a play that describes the reunion of a high school rock band; and Don Messer's Jubilee, a play about the Maritime fiddler and his dance band. Each musical, which is preceded by a preface, conveys a strong sense of place and setting with characters who have a distinctively Canadian flavour. The author has deliberately omitted the music but has included the lyrics in an attempt to force the reader to concentrate on the meaning rather than the music. Gray has provided a lengthy introduction, which enables the reader to learn more about the young Nova Scotian who failed music in school and eventually emerged as a well-known dramatist and musician who has made a substantial contribution to Canadian theatre. This is a useful book that will provide insight into one of Canada's best-known dramatists. Useful for academic, public and school libraries. Bessie Egan, Winnipeg Public Library, Winnipeg, Man. * Reviewed vol. IX/4 1981 p.293.