SPACE PORT – MainstreetMusicals.org

If you are interested in this work and would like to talk with the creators, please email your request to info@mainstreetmusicals.org. Please include: Name of Show, Your Name, Name of Your Company or School. Thank you.

Synopsis

Act I: “Don’t you want to get away?” asks the PA system of the Space Port, at whose Intergas fueling station decommissioned shuttle pilot GINA toils as a mechanic. Like many a dock worker, Gina struggles to fight addiction to the strawberry dust that pollutes the remote transit hub, transformed and sold in the form of “Stay Awakes” by BUS, a strutting dockyard shift manager. (Space Port) Bus’ hots for Gina are unrequited and his harassment causes her to miss her connection with new Intergas owner ROD, an astraphobe with escapist plans that start with cementing over the strawberries.

A con artist named NOVA arrives. Nova and her business partner SUREFIRE hope to go legit by persuading a local operator to convert his low-brow arcade into a highfalutin’ showplace with her as the star attraction. Catching a glimpse of Bus peacocking, Nova marks him as an influencer and easy stooge, and encourages him to prove himself by bringing people out to her pilot showcase at the arcade. (We’ll Make a Killing) Bus visits the Intergas to collect strawberries and invite Gina to Nova’s arcade show. Gina uses her newly-arrived boss as an excuse to ward off Bus’ advances, leading Bus to become aggressive toward Rod, who nonetheless refuses to back down. (Space is the Place) Bus leaves, and Gina helps Rod unpack. The two bond as they share their respective dreams – Gina’s to get her pilot’s license reinstated and Rod’s to finance completion and launch of his self-built rocketship, the Space Stallion. (Someday) He agrees to accompany Gina to the nightclub.

There, Nova focuses her performance not on the arcade owner, but on Bus, who remains distracted by seeing Rod and Gina together. (Let’s Blast Off) After Rod and Gina commit to helping one another (Dancing at the Cassiopeia), Bus threatens Rod and rubs his fingers under Gina’s nose, causing her to relapse. (The Stars, Like Dust) Sick of Bus’ bullying, Rod tells Bus that the Intergas and its strawberry fields are off-limits. The heretofore ignored arcade owner remains unsold on the nightclub concept, so Nova persuades him to give her another chance to prove herself. (Upgrade I) Bus challenges Rod to a drag race, wagering that Bus will goodwill-sponsor Gina’s pilot recertification in anticipation of the race with Bus getting full access to the strawberries if he wins. If he loses, Bus agrees to leave them be (but he’s not going to lose). (Upgrade II) Believing Gina will be the one competing, Rod commits to the race.

Act II: Since actual shuttles are off-limits, the race will be virtual… held on the arcade’s flight simulators. To ameliorate the problems created by the ever-present strawberry dust, Gina tries cooking the berries, a side-effect of which might be to infatuate her with Rod. (Close to Me) Nova plays all the angles. She uses the arcade race to promote her next show, marketing it with heavy word-of-mouth advertising (Gossip), persuades Bus to issue bribes to keep the authorities at bay, and sneaks a batch of Stay Awakes into the arcade’s fruit punch on the day of the race to make it lively, an act that Gina witnesses. (Risky Business) Gina and Rod appear to miscommunicate plans for the race, and Bus learns his bribery attempt has gone awry. (Waitaminnit)

Seeing Bus (and practically everyone) unwittingly imbibe the spiked punch, Gina bolts, leaving Rod to “fly” on his own. Mayhem ensues: Rod wins, but under the influence of the spiked punch practically everyone goes berzerk and Bus crashes out, until Gina saves the day in the Space Stallion. (The Race) Perhaps it’s a side-effect of crop dusting everyone with strawberries she’s blast-cooked with the ship’s jets, but Rod now returns Gina’s affection. (Close to Me [Reprise]) The cops raid the cantina but find no reason to arrest anyone. Gina’s pilot license is restored and Nova contrives to make new arrangements: Bus rerouting shuttle flights to blast-cook the fields, Nova to headline, and Rod and Gina to bring the joys of cooked strawberries to the universe. (Finale/Space Port [Reprise])

Space Port is a zany, retrofuturist romp, an entertaining, high-energy, day-glo fusion of pop scifi and musical theater storytelling. Don’t you want to get away?