Take Off to Hampton Theatre Company for a Rollicking 'Boeing Boeing'

Hampton Theatre Company launches its 40th season with the rollicking comedy, Boeing Boeing. So, fasten your seat belts, put your trays in the upright position and hang on tight for a joyful flight.

Boeing Boeing was written by French playwright Marc Camoletti and translated into English by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans. It debuted in London in February 1962 then opened on Broadway in 1965, the same year the film version hit the big screen starring Tony Curtis, Jerry Lewis and Thelma Ritter. This farce enjoyed a revival in 2008 at the Longacre Theatre winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. In 1991, Boeing Boeing was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most-performed French play throughout the world. And why not since this comedy serves up such fun.

Bernard is an American journalist working and living in Paris. A playboy, he has what he considers a great set-up happening. He is engaged to three different flight attendants from three different countries working for three different airlines. All three women have names that start with the letter “G” so as not to confuse matters further. There’s the American Gloria, a flight attendant with TWA, Gabriella, a flight attendant with Alitalia and Gretchen, a flight attendant with Lufthansa. His is a juggling act keeping a timetable of all his fiancées’ flight schedules so they never intersect. He boasts, “Pure mathematics! So precise it’s almost poetic!”

Thrown into the mix is an unexpected visit from longtime nerdy friend from Wisconson, Robert, who is in Paris to visit relatives. Bernard invites Robert to stay and he explains about his three fiancées from three different countries. Robert is instantly impressed and exclaims, “An international harem!” Berthe, the French housekeeper, is in a constant state of exasperation as she struggles to keep up with all the comings and goings of the three ladies. She changes everything at the flat including photographs to match the next woman coming home and by cooking foods that each woman likes. She tells Robert, “Without me, I don’t know what would happen with monsieur and all his complications.” But as luck and happenstance would have it, we are soon to find out when Bernard’s foolproof scheme comes crashing down due to the new, speedier Boeing jets that suddenly disrupt his careful planning and all three women show up at his apartment on the same day. This predicament forces a great big sigh from Berthe who has the closing and foreshadowing line of Act I, “Drink up, monsieur, it is going to be a bumpy night.”

Director Catherine Clyne builds split second timing into this farce and keeps the action at a fever pitch. Sometimes the ins and outs happen so quickly that we gasp thinking the ladies are sure to bump into each other. Kevin Russo as Bernard mixes charm with his zany antics and we somehow root for him to keep his scheme going. Jill Linden is hysterical as the long-suffering Berthe with razor sharp quips that build as the craziness escalates. Samm Jenny gives Gloria a brash New York attitude and we ultimately applaud when it is revealed she has a few secrets of her own. Molly Brennan as Gabriella is adorable, but watch out because she takes no nonsense. Jason Moreland is pure delight as Robert, the shy, geeky longtime friend to Bernard who not only admires his diabolical scheme but decides to take a giant slice out of it for himself. Moreland is brilliant at slapstick comedy and his scenes with Emily Vaeth as the swirling human tornado Gretchen are such fun that they provide some of the biggest laughs.

Joe Kenny has created and built with Meg Sexton a contemporary ’60s apartment replete with the necessary doors to slam in the midst of all the antics. Sebastian Paczynski’s lighting design adds cheeriness to the set. Sexton’s sound design keeps all the levels crisp and clear. Teresa Lebrun’s costumes deliver the ’60s feel with the ladies in uniforms specific to their airlines during that era.

Boeing Boeing is physical comedy at its best with doors slamming, characters furiously dashing and frenetic energy, so for a madcap night at the theater soar into Quogue Community Hall. Playing now through March 30.

Performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinee will be offered on Saturday, March 29, at 2:30 p.m., prior to the regular 7 p.m. performance that evening.

Tickets to this show and other HTC productions are available at hamptontheatre.org or by calling 631-653-8955.

Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist and photographer whose celebrity interviews, theatre reviews, features and human interest stories appear in major publications. She is author of the children’s chapter book, Madison Weatherbee The Different Dachshund, and playwright of Madison Weatherbee The Musical. Her one-act plays have been produced across Long Island. Her children’s picture book, Life According to Lexington, is due out later this year.