The
Flying Game
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by Emily Mitchell Even By Brazil’s Inflationary standards, $120 is a lot to pay for a ticket to a half-hour play, but commuters consider A Man in the Air a bargain; it is the loftiest (7,000m), fastest-moving (530 km/h) theatrical work ever mounted anywhere. Of course, the price of admission also includes the fare for the Friday-night shuttle between Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte on TABA airline. TABA owner Alexandre Gibson launched the in-flight entertainment as a promotional gimmick, but veteran stage director Irene Ravache and writer-actor Raul de Orofino saw it as an opportunity to bring their craft to the public. Even By Brazil’s Inflationary standards, $120 is a lot to pay for a ticket to a half-hour play, but commuters consider A Man in the Air a bargain; it is the loftiest (7,000m), fastest-moving (530 km/h) theatrical work ever mounted anywhere. Of course, the price of admission also includes the fare for the Friday-night shuttle between Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte on TABA airline. TABA owner Alexandre Gibson launched the in-flight entertainment as a promotional gimmick, but veteran stage director Irene Ravache and writer-actor Raul de Orofino saw it as an opportunity to bring their craft to the public. "I believe theater can be done any-place," says Orofino, who has made a name for himself with Theater in the Home, which he performs in living rooms around the country. "All you need is a good story." Orofino plays Luciana Romana, a female passenger who emerges from the lavatory horrified to discover that she has been transformed into a man. "Has anyone else changed sex? " the distraught Luciana asks her fellow travelers. Her dilemma is miraculously resolved just in time for landing. Encouraged by customers’ enthusiastic responses, TABA plans to introduce the play on other routes and is dreaming up additional airbone entertainment, including live music. There is no limit to the airline’s flights of fancy. |
