This article shares the long, winding path that Gentleman's Guide....took through development.
Another more recent development timeline story is that of the Tony Award winner for Best Musical in 2022 - A Strange Loop!
Here is a Playbill piece by Suffs author Shaina Taub on the process of writing each of the songs for the eventual Broadway production.
In this article about Small Mouth Sounds, we love the final few paragraphs in which Bess Wohl talks about her intent/inspiration for writing the piece. This is one of a handful of off-Broadway shows that has also put out a tour in the past few years (others include Underground Railroad Game and Cambodian Rock Band).

Here is a NYT article about Thomson v Larson (Rent), one of the landmark cases on the question of "what qualifies authorship."

(Here is a link to the official case write-up, if you want to dive in even further!)

This article chronicles the conflict between the previously commissioned writer of an Oscar Levant play and the producers/star of the Broadway play.
In terms of how to copyright the work of a director, check out this article on Joe Mantello’s direction of the original production of Love! Valour! Compassion!
New York Times: Mickey’s Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Creation Will Soon Be Public Property