Musical theatre: A Boarding Line, A Musical Extravaganza, June 2021, Cape Town

Musical theatre: A Boarding Line, A Musical Extravaganza, premiering June 2021, Cape Town

In December 2020, Stephan Fourie and a team of creatives brought festive cheer to audiences at the Masque Theatre, with This Moment- a musical cabaret. The exuberant and energetic show was an upper in a time when people needed a lift. Now, the same team is bringing A Boarding Line, A Musical Extravaganza- to the Masque. The show is conceptualised around “the bustle of a glamorous and enigmatic airport”. On a particular morning, a gaggle of characters are clumped together at ALW Airport. They have no idea that a day of non-stop turbulence is ahead – with lots of fun and “hilarity”. Frequent flyer travellers and trainee flight attendants are thrown together and they sing us through the day of unexpected events. “With jazz hands like Fosse, quartets like Lloyd Webber and belting like LuPone – this is your one-way ticket to a musical extravaganza that will have you clinging to your seat and tapping your tray tables,” says Fourie. There is lots of mirth in this airport. The song list includes travel inspired numbers like, Part of Your World, Don’t Rain on my Parade, 9 to 5, Me and the Sky and Tonight Belongs to You. Leisure travel is likely to be out of reach for a long time, for most people, and this musical sounds like a much needed tonic. The tag is “a hilarious musical” and we all need to decompress, so “hilarious” fare is most welcome. I saw This Moment in December and loved it. I look forward to enjoying an airport inspired musical extravaganza. The idea of a packed airport seems like another era and seeing a busy airport conjured up on stage, in a theatre is very much about hope. There is the hope that one day, we will be able to fly, without the fear of getting Rona. There is the excitement of imagining where we could go but for now, we can celebrate what we have and sing and tap along. A Boarding Line is a fundraiser for the Masque Theatre, so keep that in mind. By purchasing a ticket, you are contributing to the sustainability of the 61-year-old community theatre which has provided a fantastic platform for the arts. In pandemic times, with the closure of independent venues in the pandemic, it is likely to become a much needed space for artists.

❇ Sponsored content. Images supplied.