BWW Interviews: Cinco Paul on 'BUBBLE BOY' American Theater Group's World Premiere Musical at UC PAC

Bubble Boy, a new musical is being produced by American Theater Group. The show will premiere at the Union County Performing Arts Center (UC PAC) in Rahway from November 6th to November 24th. The book, music and lyrics were written by Cinco Paul, whose work as a screenplay writer is well known to movie audiences worldwide.

Paul, along with his partner Ken Daurio, have successfully collaborated on original animation movies and adventurous live action movies that include such hits as Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, The Lorax, and Horton Hears a Who.

Paul is excited about his newest project, Bubble Boy, which is based on the 2001 cult movie of the same name that he penned with Daurio. It has already been well-received in staged readings at Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State University. The ASCAP staged reading was done as part of the American Theater Group's New Musical Reading Series and it went over so well, they decided to move forward with the full musical production.

The story centers around Jimmy Livingston, born without immunities and confined to a plastic bubble room since birth. Jimmy falls in love with Chloe, the girl next door. When she leaves town to get married, Jimmy breaks out of his room and travels cross-country in a homemade bubble suit in order to stop the wedding, embarking on an adventure involving cult members, a biker gang, an Indian ice cream man, and his controlling mother.

Directed by Jen Wineman, Jimmy, the "bubble boy" is played by Chris McCarrell. Erin Maguire is Mrs. Livingston, Jimmy's mom. Gerianne Perez plays Chloe, the girl next door and Gabriel Sloyer plays Slim, the biker.

Paul has always been a fan of musical theater and believes that this story of the bubble boy set to music and dance is perfect for the stage. He said, "You've got a main character who has spent his life in a plastic bubble and is finally out in the world. He has every reason to sing! I don't think there's really anything out there like it. It's a full-on comedy with outrageous humor that has a really sweet love story at its core."

Famed Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz, known for Godspell, Pippin and Wicked among others, has praised the project and provided continued guidance for it. Schwartz said, "Bubble Boy is one of the cleverest, funniest, and most endearing musicals I've seen in a long time."

Paul lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family and has been travelling coast to coast to oversee American Theater Group's Bubble Boy production. He hopes that metropolitan area audiences will enjoy the humor of the show and "laugh themselves silly" while embracing the thoughtful message that Jimmy, the bubble boy, learns as he pursues the love of his life. Paul commented, "We all have bubbles. And, we all need to break out of them."

American Theater Group's production of their new musical, Bubble Boy, will be presented at UC PAC's Hamilton Stage in Rahway from November 6th through November 24th.

For tickets, please visit www.americantheatergroup.org/bubbleboy. You can also call (732) 499-8226.

Photo: Courtesy of Cinco Paul