The latest musical to have its world premiere in Manchester is 42 Balloons, which comes from the producers of Six.
Written by Jack Godfrey, the biographical musical chronicles the life of Larry Walters and the “Lawnchair Larry flight”, in which Walters made a 45-minute flight in a homemade aerostat made of an ordinary patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons.
It has been in development since 2020 with Perfect Pitch Musicals, an entity dedicated exclusively to creating, developing and promoting new contemporary British musicals. In 2021, the song ’42 Balloons and a Lawn Chair’ was released on Perfect Pitch’s Rise:Up YouTube channel. In 2022, the musical was presented as four semi-staged concerts in the West End.
Today, ahead of the launch event, new single ‘Lawn Chair Larry’ was released, with the music video released after the event – and, better yet, an EP coming out in early March!
The lovely little launch was opened by Matthew Eames, the Lowry’s Head of Theatres (Contemporary and Commissioning), who introduced us to the cast. Whilst Evelyn “Evie” Hoskins and Charlie McCullagh appeared in the concerts and have been attached to the world premiere production since it was first announced, the full cast was only announced today.
The cast performed ’42 Balloons and a Lawn Chair’, an 80s-infused musical bop which simultaneously sounds retro but current. Let’s call it future nostalgia!
Eames then headed a panel discussion with Godfrey, Hoskins, McGullah, and Andy Barnes, one of the producers. We learned all about the production and, safe to say, every single person in that room is now even more excited about the musical than they had been before the event. We were also given iced cupcakes, which were the icing on the cake (quite literally).
After the Q&A, questions were opened up to the audience. One man, who works in some industrial industry, told us that Larry Walters, like many truck drivers, suffered from depression – and he sadly committed suicide in 1993. He asked if the show could raise awareness or money for any relevant charities, and Barnes said he thinks that that is a wonderful idea.
Nikki Cotter of Opening Night lifted the mood by asking the panel what they would take with them if they were in an aerostat!
Barnes jokes that he would take the soundtrack of 42 Balloons, before telling us it comes out soon – shameless plug! Godfrey said that he would take a guitar and maybe write some new songs for the show (four full new songs have been added to the show since its concert run).
Evie said she would take a camera, which Larry took but he never used because the flight was a bit of a commotion. But whilst most people would take photos of the land below, Evie would take some selfies! Charlie, conversely, would take nothing that is a distraction so he could just take it all in.
The event wrapped with a performance of new single ‘Lawn Chair Larry’ – which we were not allowed to record so look out for the music video!
42 Balloons runs at the Lowry (Quays Theatre) from April 18 to May 19.
Photo: Jonathan Rawlinson @ The Theatre Talk
JADAR 