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Housing
woes got you down? Tired of political
backbiting and global economic malaise?
Feeling nostalgic for the Swingin’ Sixties,
when flying was fun and air hostesses ruled
the sky? Well, even if you’ve only read of
such a world—Flying? Fun?—you can live it
all vicariously by taking a seat at the
Longacre Theatre and preparing for take-off
in the delicious and madcap comedy Boeing
Boeing. With a six-person cast that works
with as much precision as a Swiss watch as
they hurl across the stage and in and out of
slamming doors, Boeing Boeing is a blast of
nitrous oxide that leaves you gasping for
more.
When was the last time you belly-laughed
with as much abandon in a Broadway theatre?
Probably not since the original Noises Off
back in 1983. Boeing Boeing utilizes some of
the same broad physical comedy that made
Noises Off so hysterical—but instead of one
ditzy blonde, there are three wacky women
who utilize their feminine wiles in the most
exaggerated fashion. As played by Kathryn
Hahn, Gina Gershon, and Mary McCormack, the
three air mattresses—er, hostesses—exploit
nearly every stereotype connected to their
country of origin—America, Italy, and
Germany—using accents so thick and satirical
as to sometimes render their words nearly
unintelligible—and yet, still, you find
yourself laughing—as much for their stances
and their rubber-faced expressions as the
words you can barely understand. These three
actors are comediennes in the tradition of
Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball—and a
reminder of how much fun it is to see people
getting loose onstage.
Years ago, Boeing Boeing was such a hit in
Europe that it ran for seven years in London
and nineteen in Paris—but upon arriving in
New York at the Cort Theatre in 1965, the
show closed after only 23 performances.
Fortunately, Matthew Warchus knew a good
thing when he read it—and Warchus’s
direction is as sure-footed as the three air
hostesses in their spike heels. There’s also
Mark Rylance who was recently awarded the
Tony for Best Actor for his performance of a
rube in the middle of a sexual smorgasbord,
and a daffy Bradley Whitford as the manic
Lothario.
In spite of New York’s pass on the show back
in 1965, Hollywood came calling and Boeing
Boeing became a movie starring Jerry Lewis
and Tony Curtis. The current production,
however, more accurately recalls another
Hollywood film, also starring Curtis: the
delectable Billy Wilder-directed Some Like
It Hot—and in fact, at show’s end, you can
almost hear Bradley Whitford’s character
saying to Rylance’s, “Well, nobody’s
perfect.” True enough, but this show is as
close to perfection as any comedy on
Broadway, past or present. Or as Gloria, the
American, puts it,“SHA-ZAM!”
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