Tuesday is a momentous day for the theatre industry with the opening of the first large-scale musical production in Australia since COVID-19 hit.
Kerri-Anne Kennerly, Simon Burke and Ainsley Melham star in the acrobatic Broadway musical, PIPPIN, at Sydney's Lyric Theatre which will run until January 31.
"It's such a sense of relief, apprehension and excitement," said Burke, who plays Charles, Pippin's demanding father.
"There's also a bit of guilt because we're the first people working.
"I can't help but think about the rest of people in the industry ... but there is a feeling of quiet hope that things are going to get back to normal."
NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, said the opening of PIPPIN was an exciting milestone, and audiences would not only be "treating themselves, but giving local businesses a boost".
PIPPIN tells the story of a young man at a crossroads in his life and told by a travelling troupe of actors and acrobats, like a play within a play.
It includes spectacular circus performers and award-winning songs, while Kennerly (PIPPIN's "saucy" grandma) will be seen dressed in a corset and heels, doing trapeze - a far cry different from her morning television appearances.
"I have sailed out of three choppers and down the side of a building or two, but no I haven't been on a trapeze before [this production]," she laughed.
"I spent the first two weeks [of rehearsal] thinking 'finally I have bitten off more than I can chew'.
"But after COVID-19, it is time to start living."
The star said the fun production was just what people need, with energetic songs to inspire and breathe life back into NSW.
PIPPIN plays is at the Sydney Lyric at The Star from November to January 31.
Tickets through www.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100.