In 1982, a truck driver named Larry Walters hooked up dozens of climate balloons to an aluminum garden chair and floated as much as 16,000 ft above Southern California. He was noticed by a few airplanes earlier than descending and touchdown safely, though he did take out a neighborhood’s electrical energy for a short while.
He bought his 15-minutes of fame — together with an look on “Late Night time with David Letterman” — and have become identified, memorably, as “Garden Chair Larry.” There was unquestionably one thing concerning the dream-driven DIY-ness of his flight that captured the imaginations of storytellers. It impressed the Disney movie “Up” — by which a cantankerous outdated man seeks to satisfy a promise to his spouse — in addition to a small Australian film referred to as “Deckchair Danny.”
In 2009, Steppenwolf produced a play by Bridget Carpenter, additionally referred to as “Up,” which took most of its inspiration from the emotional aftermath of the flight and fleeting fame, which didn’t result in happiness for Larry, who — spoiler alert! — dedicated suicide a decade after his balloon-buoyed ascension.
Now there’s a candy, energetic, ’80s-infused musical comedy, referred to as “42 Balloons,” which began within the UK and is now making its U.S. debut at Chicago Shakespeare with heavy-hitting business producers hooked up.
Determinedly upbeat, even when the story will get darker, the present has loads of allure and actually charismatic performances from its leads, who embody Charlie McCullagh as nerdily obsessive Larry, Evelyn Hoskins as his initially reluctant however finally super-supportive girlfriend Carol, Broadway veteran Lisa Howard as Carol’s gently caustic mom, and Akron Watson as Ron, an outdated buddy of Larry’s who filmed the takeoff.
The musical is almost all sung-through, and first-time composer-librettist Jack Godfrey delivers a catchy, synth-pop rating harking back to ’80s bands like Duran Duran and Pet Store Boys, with occasional infusions of early hip-hop a la Run-D.M.C.
A various ensemble refrain, wearing period-inspired jumpsuits and hairstyles, narrates in music whereas they dance to the beat. The fixed, large-scale projections that dominate the visible background scream out ultra-early MTV.
All because of this “42 Balloons” has lots of retro fashion, the kind that blends nostalgic fondness with a complete lot of self-conscious winking. Even the leads’ lyrics are sometimes written in third particular person, making a little bit of emotional take away within the fashion of a documentary.
There may be nothing that isn’t likable about “42 Balloons.” It’s bought an ideal coronary heart, exhibiting Larry numerous love and a surplus of sympathy, treating him as a heroic inspiration and never a cautionary story. Carol, Carol’s mom and Ron are all celebrated as his “floor crew,” the individuals who toss apart standard expectations to face with the man chasing an oddball dream.
Desires are unambiguously good, the present tells us, ceaselessly. Individuals ought to pursue them in opposition to all odds. Others ought to assist them, even after they suppose it’s bizarre. Even when the dream doesn’t work out for the dreamer, it evokes others.
It’s a nice message, if an awfully acquainted one. And regardless of how sincerely warm-hearted it’s, “42 Balloons” additionally feels one-dimensional, and never simply thematically.
The present certain has bought a beat, however actually only one that repeats for the whole lot. The choreography, from Alexzandra Sarmiento, is enjoyable, but it surely feels extra frenetic than expressive, injecting transient homages to breakdancing or the robotic with out ever exhibiting us a convincing, spectacular model of these kinds.
The music this present borrows from definitely was ultra-energetic, as right here, however the digital tones might typically be stuffed with an other-worldly off-ness. Consider a music just like the Eurythmics’ “Candy Desires (Are Made from This),” which was catchy and upbeat, certain, but in addition unusual and unusually alluring in a method Godfrey doesn’t attain for.
Which means that the present has a generic high quality, going for the anticipated, common lyric or motion or emotion, quite than the precise. It has a transparent viewpoint however no edge, no sense of weirdness when the entire level of Larry’s story is that, even when he didn’t see it that method, he dared to be bizarre.
And though the flight, which lifts off within the final scene of Act I, comes throughout clearly if a bit clinically, it isn’t particularly theatrical or visually daring. If there’s a transparent technique of bettering the present, it could be a brand new quantity that makes Larry’s flight final and takes us up there with him extra successfully, extra emotionally, with an adrenaline rush that explains how life afterwards might by no means compete.
“42 Balloons” floats on the air of its optimistic vibe. And also you root for these characters.
However hopefully, over time, the present’s highs can get greater and its depths can get deeper.
