Boeing-Boeing (play)

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Boeing-Boeing
Written by	Marc Camoletti
Date premiered	10 December 1960
Place premiered	Théâtre de la Comédie-Caumartin, Paris
Original language	French
Subject	“It all boils down to juggling timetables and a reliable maid who never forget to change the photographs”
Genre	Comedy; farce
Setting	Bernard's apartment, Paris, France
IBDB profile

Boeing-Boeing is a classic farce written by French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English language adaptation, translated by Beverley Cross, was staged in London at the Apollo Theatre in 1962 and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for a total of seven years.^[1] In 1991, the play was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most performed French play throughout the world.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Productions 2.1 2007 West End revival 2.2 2008 Broadway 3 Adaptations 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Characters

• Bernard – a Parisian architect and lothario
• Bertha – Bernard's Housekeeper
• Robert – Bernard's old schoolchum
• Gabriella – the Italian fiancée
• Gloria – the American fiancée
• Gretchen – the German fiancée

Bernard, a successful Parisian architect, juggles three flight attendant fiancées: an American (Gloria), an Italian (Gabriella) and a German (Gretchen). He tracks their airlines' timetables, and his long-suffering housekeeper, Bertha, reluctantly resets the menus and bedroom decor depending on the arrivals and departures. Bernard has been successful at convincing each girl that she is the only one. Bernard's old school friend Robert arrives unexpectedly, and Bernard proudly explains to his wide-eyed visitor how he makes his busy romantic schedule run smoothly. He also has a fallback plan for keeping his fiancées separate, involving his country house. Unfortunately for Bernard, a new, faster Boeing jet has been introduced, changing the timetable. Weather delays occur, and complications arise when the girls' behavior does not match Bernard's careful planning.

Robert steps in to help Bernard by keeping one or more of the girls busy as they arrive ahead of (or behind) schedule. It becomes more and more difficult for Bernard, Bertha and Robert to keep the girls separate once they all arrive, and the lies told become more and more difficult to reconcile. Bertha is exhausted and threatens to quit. Eventually, the situation is combed out, with Robert becoming involved with the forceful Gretchen, Bernard keeping the feisty Gabriella, and the independent Gloria leaving to find a more pliable husband.

The plot runs parallel to the comedy film The Captain's Paradise (1953), where the protagonist is a seafaring captain (Alec Guinness) pursuing many affairs.

[edit] Productions

The play was produced on Broadway at the Cort Theatre from February 2, 1965, closing on February 20, 1965, after 23 performances.^[2][3][4] Directed by Jack Minster, the cast included Ian Carmichael, Susan Carr, Diana Millay and Gerald Harper.

The play was adapted by W!LD RICE production in Singapore in 2002. It was directed by Glen Goei, Glen and the company revisited, modernized, and relocated this classic comedy to Asia and the present day, whilst keeping faithful to the text and the spirit of the play. The three air hostesses's nationalities were changed to Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. The show starred Lim Yu-Beng, Pam Oei, Emma Yong, Chermaine Ang, Sean Yeo & Mae Paner-Rosa.^[5]

Boeing-Boeing was revived in London in February 2007 at the Comedy Theatre. It once again proved to be a hit with critics and audiences alike. The original cast of the production featured Roger Allam as Bernard, Frances de la Tour as Bertha, Mark Rylance as Robert, and Tamzin Outhwaite, Daisy Beaumont and Michelle Gomez as Bernard's three fiancées, Gloria, Gabriella and Gretchen. This production received two Olivier Award nominations, for Best Revival and Best Actor (Mark Rylance), but won neither.^[6]

Warchus also directed the 2008 Broadway revival, which started previews on April 19, 2008 and opened on May 4 at the Longacre Theatre to good reviews.^[7] The cast featured Christine Baranski as Bertha, Mark Rylance, reprising his role as Robert, Bradley Whitford as Bernard, Gina Gershon as Gabriella, Mary McCormack as Gretchen and Kathryn Hahn as Gloria. The curtain call of this revival was choreographed by Kathleen Marshall with original music by Claire van Kampen.^[8] The production closed on January 4, 2009, after 279 performances and 17 previews.[1] A 45-week North American tour is being prepared, to start in Fall 2009.^[9] The production won the Best Revival of a Play and Rylance won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor. The production was nominated for several other Tony Awards including: Best Featured Actress (Mary McCormack), Best Director (Matthew Warchus), Best Costume Design (Rob Howell) and Best Sound Design (Simon Baker). The production won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play, and Mark Rylance won for lead actor in a play.^[10]

[edit] 2007 West End revival

Dates	Bernard	Bertha	Robert	Gabriella	Gloria	Gretchen
Feb-May 2007	Roger Allam	Frances de la Tour	Mark Rylance	Daisy Beaumont	Tamzin Outhwaite	Michelle Gomez
May-Jun 2007	Roger Allam	Patricia Hodge	Mark Rylance	Daisy Beaumont	Amy Nuttall	Michelle Gomez
Jun-Oct 2007	Adrian Dunbar	Rhea Perlman	Neil Stuke	Elena Roger	Amy Nuttall	Doon Mackichan
Oct 2007-Jan 2008	Kevin McNally	Jean Marsh	Neil Stuke	Elena Roger	Jennifer Ellison	Tracy-Ann Oberman

[edit] 2008 Broadway

Dates	Bernard	Bertha	Robert	Gabriella	Gloria	Gretchen
April 2008	Bradley Whitford	Christine Baranski	Mark Rylance	Gina Gershon	Kathryn Hahn	Mary McCormack
Sept 9, 2008	Greg Germann					Missi Pyle
Oct. 7, 2008				Rebecca Gayheart	Paige Davis

^[11]

[edit] Adaptations

• Boeing Boeing (1960 film) French language film^{[citation needed]}
• Boeing Boeing (1965 film), adapted by Edward Anhalt with John Rich directing, stars Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and Thelma Ritter, released by Paramount Pictures
• Boeing Boeing (1985 film), Malayalam language adaptation by Priyadarshan and Srinivasan, starring Mohan Lal, Mukesh, and M.G. Soman
• Garam Masala (2005 film), Hindi language adaptation by Priyadarshan and Neeraj Vora, starring Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, and Paresh Rawal

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Camoletti, Marc; Mithois, Marcel (1961) (in French). Boeing-boeing. Avant-scène no. 240. Paris: L'Avant-scène. pp. 46 pp. OCLC 56696680. 

[edit] External links

• Boeing-Boeing at the Internet Broadway Database
• Official Broadway site
• Official UK Site

v • d • e Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play The Royal Family (1976) · Entertaining Mr Sloane (3082) · Death of a Salesman (1984) · Joe Egg (1985) · The House of Blue Leaves (1986) · Our Town (1989) · Anna Christie (1993) · An Inspector Calls (1994) · The Heiress (1995) · A Delicate Balance (1996) · A Doll's House (1997) · A View from the Bridge (1998) · Death of a Salesman / The Iceman Cometh (1999) · The Real Thing (2000) · The Best Man (2001) · Private Lives (2002) · Long Day's Journey into Night (2003) · Henry IV (2004) · Twelve Angry Men (2005) · Awake and Sing! (2006) · Journey's End (2007) · Boeing-Boeing (2008) · The Norman Conquests (2009)

v • d • e Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play An Inspector Calls (1994) · The Heiress (1995) · A Delicate Balance (1996) · A Doll's House (1997) · A View from the Bridge (1998) · Death of a Salesman (1999) · The Real Thing (2000) · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2001) · Private Lives (2002) · Long Day's Journey into Night (2003) · Henry IV (2004) · Glengarry Glen Ross (2005) · Awake and Sing! (2006) · Journey's End (2007) · Boeing-Boeing (2008) · The Norman Conquests (2009)