On July 2, 1982, a man flew 16,000 feet above Los Angeles. Not in an airplane. Not in a helicopter. Not in a hot-air balloon. It was the man, a lawn chair, and, okay, 42 helium-filled weather balloons. His name was Larry Walter, and he was a Vietnam veteran turned truck driver who’d nursed a lifelong dream of flying. With the help of his girlfriend, Carol Van Deusen, he was in the air for 45 minutes before he came back down and resumed a life of personal hardship. Larry’s story is now the subject of a new musical from the producers of SIX. Jack Godfrey’s score is inspired by 80s pop, and Ellie Coote directs. Writing in The Guardian, Donald Hutera called 42 Balloons, “Whip-smart, funny and unexpectedly but exceptionally touching.” —Jeanne Malle