Boeing-Boeing

Allrighty, Momma's got a new play to tell you all about! Gather 'round and sit on your knees while I tell you all about Boeing-Boeing playing here on Broadway. The show was fun. It was a true British style farce. The set had (of course) 7 doors, 1 room & 6 characters to make this sexy comedy of heterosexual naughtiness fun. Let Momma boil it down as to make it easier to swallow. The show is about an American bachelor (in the 1960s), his bitter French maid and his friend (all living in Paris) and his relationship with 3 stewardesses (American, Italian & German). Who all work for different airlines and stay with this American bachelor while they're in Paris. He's got their flights down to a mathematical science so their paths never cross and the 3 stewardesses never meet. Simple, but no - some of the girls end up working on a faster plane and their flights get all mixed up. Hence the mayhem ensues.

The set was a sassy late 60's playboy pad in Paris. I love the kitch, the colors were bright as any "I dream of Jeanie" episode could come up with. Great lighting for a play that takes place in one room. I'm a big fan of the farce and physical humor and this play delivered. The costumes, specifically the flight attendant uniforms, were fabulous. The director did a super job keeping such a long play (2.5 hours) moving along. Now let's talk shop: Like most plays of this caliber this isn't a star vehicle show, it's an ensemble piece. And boy was this ensemble good. First, Bradley Witford was great as the American Playboy. I enjoyed his exhausting performance. His slow decent into havoc was great. Christine Baranski played the bitter French maid. Not an oh-la-la maid, mind you, but a cigarette smoking, foreigner hating maid. She was great with her pageboy wig and mumbling exits. Mark Rylance played the American playboy's friend in from Wisconsin. This man has physical humor down to a 'T' he was absolutely half the show. I really, really appreciated his performance up against such strong women. Now the flight attendants: the American, Gloria was played by Kathryn Hahn, a sexy girl who plays the playboy in the end. Truly a gift for comedy. Next is the Italian, Gabriella played by Gina Gershon, she was great, as was her late 60's eye make-up. She really had that "Italian" manner of speaking down, and I don't mean the accent, I mean using her hands and body to speak. Lastly, but certainly not least is the German, Gretchen, played by Mary McCormack, God she was absolutely outstanding. Her physical humor and her syrupy German accent were brilliant. I loved her.

So overall my petite rays of sunshine, this show rocked the house. Yes, it is long. Yes it is a traditional farce. No it's not a musical, and no it won't change the world or the world as we see it. But damn, it's fun!