''Boeing-Boeing'' is a farce written by the French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English-language adaptation, translated by Beverley Cross, was first staged in London at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

in 1965, running for seven years. In 1991, the play was listed in the '' Guinness Book of Records'' as the most performed French play throughout the world.

Synopsis

The play is set in the 1960s, and centres on bachelor Bernard, who has a flat in Paris and three airline

stewardess A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

es all engaged to him without knowing about each other. Bernard's life gets bumpy, though, when his friend Robert comes to stay, and complications such as weather and a new, speedier

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

jet disrupt his careful planning. Soon, all three stewardesses are in the city simultaneously and catastrophe looms.

Characters

* Bernard– a Parisian architect and lothario (turned into an American who resides in Paris in the most recent Broadway production) * Berthe– Bernard's French housekeeper * Robert– Bernard's old school chum (from Wisconsin) * Jaqueline (or Gabriella)– the French fiancée (or the Italian fiancée) and air hostess * Janet (or Gloria)– the American fiancée and air hostess * Judith (or Gretchen)– the German fiancée and air hostess

Productions

The English version of the play was first staged in London's West End at the Apollo Theatre in 1962 with

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authorit ...

in the lead role and then transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for seven years. After a year in the play, Tomlinson was replaced by

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

, who played in it for two years. He was then replaced by Nicholas Parsons, who played in it for 15 months. The play was produced on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

from February 2, 1965, closing on February 20, 1965, after 23 performances. Directed by Jack Minster, the cast included Ian Carmichael, Susan Carr, Diana Millay, and

Gerald Harper Gerald Harper (born 15 February 1931) is an English actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' (1966–67) and '' Hadleigh'' (1969–76). He then returned to his main love, the theatre. ...

. The play was also on in Blackpool at the South Pier during 1967, and featured Vicki Woolf,

Dandy Nichols Dandy Nichols (born Daisy Sander; 21 May 1907 – 6 February 1986) was an English actress best known for her role as Else Garnett, the long-suffering wife of the character Alf Garnett who was a parody of a working class Tory, in the BBC s ...

Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lewis Lloyd (22 April 1923 – 14 July 2008) was an English actor who made his name in film and television comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in ''Hancock's Half Hour'', ''Hugh and I'' and other sit ...

Ann Sidney Ann Sidney (born 27 March 1944) is a British actress, TV Host and beauty queen who won the 1964 Miss World contest representing the United Kingdom. Early life Sidney moved to Poole when very young. She went to Martin Road School in Parkstone a ...

, and Christina Taylor. In 1978, the play was produced in Kansas City, featuring

Jerry Mathers Gerald Patrick Mathers (born June 2, 1948) is an American actor best known for his role in the television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963, in which he played the protagonist Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the y ...

and

Tony Dow Anthony Lee Dow (April 13, 1945 – July 27, 2022) was an American actor, film producer, director and sculptor. He portrayed Wally Cleaver in the iconic television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'' from 1957 to 1963. From 1983 to 1989, Dow repr ...

of '' Leave it to Beaver''. The play was adapted by W!LD RICE production in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in 2002. It was directed by Glen Goei; Glen and the company revisited, modernized, and relocated this 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, and Mae Paner-Rosa. ''Boeing-Boeing'' was revived in London in February 2007 at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in a production directed by Matthew Warchus. Once again, the play proved to be a hit with critics and audiences alike. The original cast of the production featured

Roger Allam Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical '' Les Misérables'', First Officer ...

as Bernard, Frances de la Tour as Bertha, Mark Rylance as Robert, and

Tamzin Outhwaite Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includi ...

, Daisy Beaumont, and

Michelle Gomez Michelle Gomez (born 23 November 1966) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy series ''The Book Group'' (2002–2003), ''Green Wing'' (2004–2007), and '' Bad Education'' (2012–2013). She went on to appear ...

as Bernard's three fiancées, Gloria, Gabriella, and Gretchen. This production received two

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

nominations, for Best Revival and Best Actor (Mark Rylance), but won neither. Elena Roger later took on the role of Gabriella. Warchus also directed the 2008 Broadway revival, which started previews on April 19, 2008, and opened on May 4 at the

Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known a ...

to good reviews. The cast featured Christine Baranski as Berthe, Mark Rylance, reprising his role as Robert,

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he ...

as Bernard,

Gina Gershon Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress. She has had roles in the films ''Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat'' (1988), '' Showgirls'' (1995), '' Bound'' (1996), '' Face/Off'' (1997), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Demonlover'' (2002 ...

as Gabriella,

Mary McCormack Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969) is an American actress. She has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series '' Murder One'' (1995–97), as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in ''The West Wing'' (2004–06), a ...

as Gretchen, and

Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence ap ...

as Gloria. The curtain call of this revival was choreographed by

Kathleen Marshall Kathleen Marshall (born September 28, 1962) is an American director, choreographer, and creative consultant. Life and career Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1980 and ...

with original music by

Claire van Kampen Claire Louise van Kampen, Lady Rylance (born 3 November 1953) is an English director, composer and playwright. She composed the music for Mark Rylance's 1989 performance as Hamlet and shared the 2007 Sam Wanamaker Award with him. Her composing ...

. The production closed on January 4, 2009, after 279 performances and 17 previews. A 45-week North American tour began in fall 2009. 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 The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

including: Best Featured Actress (

), Best Director ( Matthew Warchus), Best Costume Design ( Rob Howell) and Best Sound Design (

Simon Baker Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor in television and film, as well as a director. He is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series ''The Mentalist'' as Patrick Jane and ''The Guardian'' as Nicholas Fallin ...

). The production won the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The award was initially introduced in 19 ...

, and Mark Rylance won for lead actor in a play.

2007 West End revival

2008 Broadway

Jones, Kennet
"Two New Stews: Davis and Gayheart to Climb Aboard Broadway's Boeing"
, playbill.com, Sept. 29, 2008

Adaptations

* ''Boeing Boeing'' (1965 film), American film adapted by Edward Anhalt with John Rich directing, stars Jerry Lewis,

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

and

Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American actress, best known for her comedic roles as working-class characters and her strong New York accent. She won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and received ...

, released by Paramount Pictures * ''Motarda Gharameya'' (1968 film), Egyptian film starring Fouad el-Mohandes, Shwikar and Abdel Moneim Madbouly. * ''Boeing Boeing'' (1985 film),

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

film adaptation by

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in ...

starring

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

, Mukesh, and M. G. Soman * '' Chilakkottudu'', Telugu film adaption by E. V. V. Satyanarayana starring Jagapati Babu and

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

* ''Garam Masala'' (2005 film),

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

film adaptation by

starring

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor, film producer, writer and former model working in Hindi films. He has won a National Film Award and received five Filmfare nominations. After modelling for advertisements and companies, ...

, and Paresh Rawal * '' Nee Tata Naa Birla'', Kannada film adaptation.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , title = Awards for ''Boeing-Boeing'' , list = {{DramaDesk PlayRevival 2001–2025 {{TonyAward PlayRevival 2001–2025 1960 plays Broadway plays Comedy plays Drama Desk Award-winning plays Tony Award-winning plays West End plays Aviation plays and operas Works about flight attendants French plays adapted into films