To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2020, the ROMA Musical Theatre held a series of gala concerts on 18, 19 and 20 September 2020.
These concerts featured extensive excerpts from the songs, retaining certain elements of the staging and scenography from the show. There was also a surprise performance of a song created early in the writing of the musical, but which ultimately did not make it into the show. An added treat was to see the entire orchestra up on the stage, led by Jakub Lubowicz, one of the show’s composers. Fans of the ROMA Musical Theatre were delighted – especially since all those present at the concerts were the first to have the chance to buy a DVD recording of the show! It’s well worth taking Pilots home with you! Apart from the performance recorded at the ROMA Musical Theatre, the DVD also contains additional behind-the-scenes footage recorded during the making of the musical.
The musical Pilots, written by Wojciech Kępczyński (book), Michał Wojnarowski (lyrics) and Jakub Lubowicz and Dawid Lubowicz (music), had its premiere at the ROMA Musical Theatre on 7 October 2017, and was met with great acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Over the course of two seasons, a total of 427 performances were staged, watched by a total audience of over 427,000 people. The final performance took place on June 16, 2019. In 2017, the musical was nominated for an Empik Bestseller award in the “Event of the Year” category. A televised recording of the show is currently available for viewing on the Player.pl streaming service.
Pilots is the passionate tale of the great love affair between Nina, an actress and singer who is a rising star of 1930s Warsaw cabarets, and Jan, a Polish military pilot. The background to their adventures in love is the Second World War and particularly the Battle of Britain, which many Polish pilots took part in. The historical turmoil forces the characters to make certain difficult choices. The concert also featured the first surprise performance of a song that did not make it into the show.
Cast:
Nina – Zofia Nowakowska
Jan – Janek Traczyk
Chairman – Jan Bzdawka
Alice – Marta Wiejak
Hans – Michał Bronk
Franek – Jeremiasz Gzyl
Maks – Andrzej Skorupa
Stefan – Piotr Janusz
Nel – Sylwia Banasik-Smulska
Ewa – Maria Juźwin
Flying Officer Pilkington – Krzysztof Bartłomiejczyk
Group Captain Brown – Krzysztof Cybiński
Lord Stanford – Wojciech Machnicki
Howard – Wiktor Korzeniowski
Miss Pinky – Agata Bieńkowska
Mary – Marta Burdynowicz
Wojtek – Kuba Strach
and
Basia Gąsienica Giewont, Małgorzata Kampa, Natalia Krakowiak, Justyna Ostach, Joanna Sikorska, Mariusz Bocianowski, Jarosław Derybowski, Robert Kampa and Michał Piprowski.
Appearing in surprise roles: Paweł Mielewczyk, Wojciech Socha.
The Roma MT orchestra and band were conducted by Jakub Lubowicz.