With a brand new “Space Opera” on the way, The Disco Biscuits will revisit their 1999 rock opera Hot Air Balloon with a reimagined musical theater production entitled The Very Moon: A Steampunk Musical. The new adaptation will be presented for the first time at a workshop performance on May 13th at Philadelphia’s FringeArts.
“While we’ve been busy putting the final touches on our Space Opera, we’ve been simultaneously reimagining the OG Hot Air Balloon for …. musical theater!” Aron Magner wrote on social media.
Created by Disco Biscuits guitarist Jon “Barber” Gutwillig, Hot Air Balloon includes music composed in collaboration with Nicholas Schmidle and Magner. The new musical adaptation will feature arrangements by musical director Alex Bechtel.
“Twenty-four years ago, guitarist Jon Gutwillig wrote a steampunk rock opera about a hopeless romantic’s quest to fly. He called it Hot Air Balloon,” reads the event website. “Gutwillig and his Philadelphia-based band, The Disco Biscuits, have played the nine songs from the opera hundreds of times since then. But the music has never been adapted for a theater stage. Until now.”
According to the website, “Gutwillig and Schmidle will host a conversation after the performance, where attendees will be invited to participate in a discussion about the show.”
To find more information and purchase tickets, click here.
The Disco Biscuits will return to the road for the Road to New Orleans, with shows in Alabama and NOLA during Jazz Fest. They will then head to Iceland for their Tranceatlantic destination event, and they have a run of summer tour dates in June. For a full list of dates and ticketing details, visit the band’s website.
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