Since this is a new play (actually a sixties hit which ran for seven years but had not been seen since) there was a promotion on at Justminute.com for 11 Dec...10 quid for a Balcony seat...
But I guess it was our lucky day ...coz when we reached the box office to collect our tickets we were told that we had been upgraded to stalls!!! We were on the 8th or 9th row from the stage...
Boeing Boeing has a sexist premise and national stereotyping... but somehow that took a back seat since it was deliriously funny and it was virtually impossible to stop laughing that evening...
It revolves around an affluent French architect – Bernard juggling his love life with three air-stewardesses. (I seem to remember seeing a Bollywood movie on the same theme starring Akki)
The stewardesses - American, Italian, and German stereotypes had the audience roaring with laughter...All 3 work for different airlines and thus fly into and out of his life at suitably irregular intervals. All Bernard has to do is keep an eye on the schedules... He is reluctantly assisted by his French maid who changes the photos in his bedroom and adjusts the day's cuisine to accommodate whichever stewardess is flying in that day. Her gloomy deadpan face and resentful exits through the service door are superbly timed…
Robert, Bernard’s friend, comes across as a village bumpkin. Unlike the sophisticated, overconfident playboy Bernard, Robert is a simple businessman from the provinces and is portrayed initially as a nervous character.
Bernard crows to his pal about the bliss of his romantic life...Robert is shocked to his bumpkin boots ...but he learns fast and takes control when catastrophe strikes… the schedules that Bernard assiduously follows begin to fall apart and girls fly in at the wrong time and land in Paris at more or less the same time. As he covers up for his friend he ends up being soundly kissed and unexpectedly betrothed (to the German)…
In her first scene the American named Gloria didn’t come across as too great but when she returns in the 2nd half she is simply SUPERB…a TWA hostess with the glamour, vocal power and all-American pizazz. Her monologue when she is telling Bernard that in America it’s the women who do all the thinking in the house and men only earn the money was brilliant…
The German – Gretchen with her accent, pronunciation and dialogue delivery was excellent – at times she sounded like she was giving some army commands … a hail H****r kinda feeling…amazingly hilarious
Alitalia’s romantic Gabriella was pretty good too…and eventually Bernard ends up getting married to her…
All in all a brilliant evening...
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