42 Balloons, a new musical by Jack Godfrey that made its world premiere at Manchester's The Lowry, will make a North American debut at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Performances will run May 24–June 29 in The Yard.
The project—inspired by a wacky, true story of a truck driver named Larry Walters who used a lawn chair and 42 helium-filled weather balloons to fly nearly 16,000 feet above Los Angeles—also has a fairly impressive list of producers, including Oh, Mary!'s Kevin McCollum, SIX: The Musical's Andy Barnes and Wendy Barnes, and Merrily We Roll Along's Sonia Friedman, so there may be future life for this title beyond the Chicago run.
Ellie Coote is directing after staging last year's world premiere. The production will also feature orchestrations, arrangements, and music supervision by Joe Beighton; choreography by Alexandra Sarmiento; scenic design by Milla Clarke; costume design by Natalie Pryce; video design by Andrzej Goulding; lighting design by Bruno Poet; and sound design by Paul Gatehouse, all also reprising their work from the earlier staging.
“I'm unbelievably excited that 42 Balloons will be coming to Chicago Shakespeare Theater this year, particularly with its brilliant recent history of supporting, developing, and producing new musicals!," says Godfrey in a statement. "I'm thrilled that we will have this amazing opportunity to take our show about big balloons and big dreams to the land where Larry Walters actually flew 42 years ago. I cannot wait to share this musical and this story with American audiences very soon.”
“I instantly connected with Larry and his desire to fly beyond his own limitations,” adds McCollum. “One of my favorite aspects of being a producer is being able to help shepherd work by new voices, and I was inspired by Jack Godfrey’s ability to capture the specificity of this real-life story and transform it into a universal journey that soars to the heavens.”
Godfrey's earlier works include This Is a Love Story and Babies, the latter of which made its premiere at London's The Other Palace last year.
Debbie Hicks, Sam Levy, S&Co, Kenny Wax, and The Lowry are co-producers.
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