May River Theatre’s ‘Boeing Boeing’ is just ‘plane’ funny

Last Friday was opening night at May River Theatre of the Tony Award winning French farce, “Boeing Boeing.”

The play — really funny and filled with “romantic energy” — is well known, internationally and on Broadway, and was popularized because of the 1965 film with Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and Thelma Ritter. It remains high on everyone’s list for the laughs it provides as the actors and actresses deal with the ridiculous complications they create and work so hard to resolve.

The plot — definitely frothy and as twisted as a corkscrew — was created by French playwright Marc Camoletti back in the early ’60s. Its complexities have aged appropriately and delightfully all of these years later.

So, picture this:

Bernard (JT Chinn), an American, is an architect living in Paris. He views himself as the most fortunate bachelor on earth, because life perfect for him and he has the attentions of three flight attendants. They believe that they not only have his attention, but that each one is engaged to him — “fiancee” is the word they toss off with ease and pride.

Bernard has carefully constructed a timetable based on their comings and goings into Paris and on the Boeing aircraft on which these enormously attractive women fly. He adheres to the schedule so well that the three have not a clue about the other. Hard to imagine.

Perfectly timed, the enormously gorgeous and irresistibly international women fly the aircraft perfectly suited to their beauty, their uniforms, their dialects — perhaps their expectations, and oh, their flight bags. There is Gabriella (Mary Lynn Finn), all dressed in Alitalia blue, Gretchen (Maggie Cunningham) in Lufthansa yellow and Gloria (Catie Mengel) in TWA red. The women perform amazingly. They are so attractive and suited for their roles, and each handles the challenges of the situation of the hour spectacularly. I loved their hats, and so will you.

Aiding everyone in this brilliant “flight plan” in the most sardonic and “I could have told you so” mode is Berthe (Barbara Fiscarel), Bernard’s loyal and creative housekeeper. We knew in our hearts that she was always loyal to Bernard, and she carefully entered the fray when it developed. Nevertheless, she learns how to work the system — her system.

Things begin to go a bit sideways when Bernard receives a note from an old school friend, Robert (Robert Tillison),who plans to visit. The plot really banks to the right and takes a dangerous turn as Bernard further finds that Boeing has just created a new and much more powerful aircraft, which will completely put in harm’s way his carefully constructed and enormously critical schedule.

We, in the opening night audience, were totally amused and entertained by the script, the distractions created by the comings and goings of the talented trio of flight attendants, and further by the difficulties poor Bernard and Robert had to face. Oh, the stories they told, as he joined Bernard in the continuation of efforts of deceit toward maintaining the “status quo” at his Parisian apartment.

We all knew, of course, that, even with the creative and less than truthful responses and explanations from Bernard and poor Robert, there would be a a moment in time when all three flight hostesses would not only be in town on the same date, but also on property.

The anticipation was delightful, and the carrying out was moreso. The energy and physical humor was first class.

The May River Theatre, our incredible community theater down on May River Road, is in its 15th season.

Please call May River Theatre about joining the volunteer crew — from joining the cast, helping with props and costumes, programs and promotions and the box office, the list of possibilities grows every day.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 7:18 PM with the headline "May River Theatre’s ‘Boeing Boeing’ is just ‘plane’ funny."