Given the chaotic state of our politics and world affairs in general, we all need a good laugh right about now. That’s exactly what Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is serving up with its new production of Boeing Boeing. With its hysterical, kinetic, over-the-top production of this classic French farce (written by Marc Camolettii and first staged in Paris in 1960), BSC has landed the high-flying comedic hit of the Berkshire summer season.
The story is simple. Bernard (Christopher Invar), an American in Paris, has three fiancées, all of them gorgeous “air hostesses” working international routes on different airlines. As Bernard explains to Robert (Mark H. Dold) — an old schoolmate who lives in Wisconsin and has dropped in out of the blue to visit his friend — being engaged to these three women doesn’t mean he’s going to marry any one of them. None of them knows about the others, and all of them have keys to Robert’s swank bachelor pad (which, conveniently, has three bedrooms, but just one bathroom).
As Bernard explains to buttoned-down Robert, the key to juggling his licentious lovelife is the book of flight timetables. It works like clockwork, until the inevitable wrench in the works: Boeing is upgrading its planes’ engines before Bernard can recalibrate his assignations. In addition, bad weather causes flight delays, which results in all three fiancées returning to their Paris home base on the same evening. Let the hijinks begin.
Before things go awry, we meet Gloria (Gisela Chípe), the brassy, crass, vivacious, voluptuous American from TWA, dressed in a flouncy fluorescent shortie peignoir, gorging on a breakfast of pancakes and ketchup. She has a sunny disposition and huge appetite for life; as she helps herself to seconds, she has Bernard checking his watch to ensure an on-time departure, which is slightly delayed by the unexpected arrival of buttoned-down Robert.
Next Gabriella (Stephanie Jean Lane) comes in for a landing. The sensual, high-drama Italian who flies Alitalia is perplexed by the presence of an increasingly flustered Robert, who nearly spills the beans. Taxiing down the runway is Gretchen (Kate MacCluggage) a towering, exuberant German from Lufthansa, who speaks and moves in full-on Valkyrie mode.
Holding it all together is Berthe (Debra Jo Rupp), Bernard’s long-suffering housekeeper, who keeps track of the various personal items the various fiancées leave behind, as well as their culinary proclivities, and changes the photos in a central picture frame apace with departures and arrivals.
This production is something of a Barrington Stage reunion. Berthe, Bernard, and Robert are played by three BSC associate artists — veteran performers all. They’re captained by founding artistic director Julianne Boyd, who stepped down two years ago and was invited back to lead this crew with madcap farcical flair. She has put together a perfect cast, and directs them with comic timing as precise as Bernad’s precious timetables.
Innvar has specialized in romantic leads at BSC, and he’s a natural as Bernard, with no heavy lifting required to play the debonair bachelor who becomes increasingly frazzled as the turbulence unfolds. He desperately tries to keep things under control as everything spins wildly out of control.
Dold plays the fool. A bumpkin initially shocked by his friend’s subterfuge, he soon becomes a collaborator, serving as air-traffic controller, directing women to different rooms to prevent a disastrous collision, and eventually getting in on the action. After his entrance, he rarely leaves the stage. It’s a feat of tremendous stamina as he turns in an energetic, frenetic performance replete with physical comedy, flopping on furniture and running from door to door, bouncing around as if on a pogo stick.
Rupp provokes laughter every time stone-faced Berthe enters, even if she doesn’t say a word. Her every glance deftly conveys disapproval and disgust. With her begrudging acceptance of Bernard’s picadillos, she’s the calm in the storm, a perfect comic foil. She also turns out be a working-class hero. One minor quibble: her accent. She sounds a lot more like her wonderful characterization of the recently deceased Dr. Ruth Westheimer — a role she originated to great acclaim at BSC in Mark St. Germain’s 2017 solo show Dr. Ruth: All the Way (now renamed Becoming Dr. Ruth and regularly staged across the country) — than a French citoyenne. It was as if her accent got stuck in Germany and never made it to Paris.
But those stewardesses! Each one is a vivid gem and a force of nature. Chípe’s Gloria is glorious; she epitomizes moxie, looking like a diminutive Wonder Woman in her red, white, and blue uniform, energetically punctuating her “exploratory” kisses with perky exclamations of “Shazaam!” or “Kapow!” Lane’s fiery Gabriella blends passion, elegance, and petulance, erupting in frustration at Bernard, then melting with forgiveness. MacCluggage’s Gretchen brings the house down with her entrance, giving Berthe a bear hug that leaves Rupp’s feet dangling midair. She delivers several side-splitting lines with hilarious conviction, notably when she scolds Robert: “Don’t you liebchen me!”
Costume designer Sara Jean Tosetti deserves special notice. Her “air hostess” uniforms capture the era with vivid colors and geometric patterns gracing short skirts and high-heeled go-go boots, plus signature matching scarves, caps, and logoed carry-on bags that play a role in the action. The set, by scenic designer Kristen Robinson, has the requisite doors enabling characters to exit and reappear at just the right moment, providing glances of brightly colored rooms beyond. The decor looks right for the era, and the apartment looks realistic and lived in. The cherry on the cake is a window with a skyline view of the Eiffel tower, occasionally crossed by airplanes coming in for a landing at Orly. This effect is furthered by the realistic rumble of jet engines, from sound designer Fabian Obispo. Kudos also to clowning consultant Michael F. Toomey and intimacy director Leigh Zimmerman for the movement of the actors on the stage.
In the end, there are no losers in Boeing Boeing. In this uproarious comedy, everybody wins, especially the audience. Sophisticated, it’s not. Silly, it is. And sometimes that’s exactly what you want on your tray table.
Barrington Stage Company’s production of Boeing Boeing runs through August 3 at the Boyd-Quinson Stage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
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