''Boeing-Boeing'' is a

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

written by the French playwright Marc Camoletti. The English-language adaptation, translated by

Beverley Cross Alan Beverley Cross (13 April 1931 – 20 March 1998) was an English playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Early life Born in London into a theatrical family, and educated at the Nautical College Pangbourne, Cross started off by wri ...

, was first staged in London at the

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

in 1962 and transferred to the

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 ...

in 1965, running for seven years. In 1991, the play was listed in the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' 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 is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

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, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

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, singer and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles wit ...

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. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

, who played in it for two years. He was then replaced by

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show ''Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' S ...

, 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 Stre ...

at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 48th Street (Manhattan), West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater ...

from February 2, 1965, closing on February 20, 1965, after 23 performances. Directed by Jack Minster, the cast included

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who Ian Carmichael on stage, screen and radio, worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career that spanned seventy years. Born in Kingston upon ...

, Susan Carr, Diana Millay, and Gerald Harper. The play was also on in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of 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, in the BBC sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part''. Early l ...

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 ...

, Ann Sidney, and Christina Taylor. In 1978, the play was produced in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, featuring

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

and Tony Dow of ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

''. The play was adapted by

W!LD RICE Wild Rice (stylized W!LD RICE), founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng, is a professional theatre company in Singapore. In 2019, the company established a permanent performance venue at Funan Mall. History The first show by Wild Rice was held at Jubile ...

production in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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 Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is an English theatre director, playwright, and filmmaker. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Early life and education Warchus grew up in Selby, North Yorkshir ...

. 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 D ...

as Bernard,

Frances de la Tour Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is a British actress. A Tony Award winner and three-time Olivier Award winner, she is also known for her roles in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' and in ''Harr ...

as Bertha,

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

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 The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

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, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and is named for Longacre Square, the former ...

to good reviews. The cast featured

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' (1995–1998). Baranski is als ...

as Berthe,

, 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 and singer. She has starred in such films as ''Cocktail'' (1988), ''Red Heat'' (1988), '' Showgirls'' (1995), '' Bound'' (1996), '' Face/Off'' (1997), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Dem ...

as Gabriella,

Mary McCormack Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969) is an American actress. She has had leading roles as Justine Appleton on the series '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper on ''The West Wing'' (2004–20 ...

as Gretchen, and

Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress. She gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including '' How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days'' (2003), '' Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' (2 ...

as Gloria. The curtain call of this revival was choreographed by Kathleen Marshall with original music by Claire van Kampen. 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 a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

including: Best Featured Actress (

), Best Director (

), Best Costume Design ( Rob Howell) and Best Sound Design (

Simon Baker Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor and director. He first gained prominence on the Australian soap opera ''E Street (TV series), E Street'' (1992–1993). He later starred in the CBS legal drama ''The Guardian (TV ser ...

). 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 across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. The award w ...

, 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 Edward Anhalt (March 28, 1914 – September 3, 2000) was an American screenwriter, producer, and documentary filmmaker. After working as a journalist and documentary filmmaker for Pathé and CBS-TV, he teamed with his wife Edna Anhalt, one of ...

with

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After depa ...

directing, stars

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

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

and

Thelma Ritter Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American character actor, character actress who, known for her strong New York City English, New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles. She ear ...

, released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

* ''Moutarada Gharamia'', 1968 Egyptian film starring

Fouad el-Mohandes Fouad Zaki El Mohandes ; known as Fouad El Mohandes (or Fuad el-Mohandess; ; September 6, 1924 – September 16, 2006) was an Egyptian stage and screen actor, and star from the 1950s specializing mostly in comedy roles in dozens of theater, ci ...

Shwikar Shwikar Ibrahim ( ; 4 November 1938 – 14 August 2020) was an Egyptian actress. She started her career in Alexandria in some tragedic roles before she was discovered by the Egyptian film director A film director or filmmaker is a person ...

and

Abdel Moneim Madbouly Abdel Moneim Madbouly (, December 28, 1921 – July 9, 2006) was an Egyptian actor, comedian and playwright. Biography Madbouly was born in Cairo and started acting at seven years old following the death of his father, as his family neede ...

. * ''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 ...

film adaptation by

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...

starring

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

, and

M. G. Soman M. G. Soman (28 October 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s and ...

* ''

Chilakkottudu ''Chilakkottudu'' () is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language comedy film, produced by M. Balaji Nagalingam under the Sai Krupa Productions banner and directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana. The film stars Jagapati Babu, Rajendra Prasad, Madhubala, Gau ...

'', Telugu film adaption by E. V. V. Satyanarayana starring

Jagapathi Babu Veeramachaneni Jagapathi Chowdary (born 12 February 1962), professionally known as Jagapathi Babu (), is an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has also appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Kannada cinema, Kannada, Malayalam cine ...

and

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

* ''Garam Masala'' (2005 film), Hindi film adaptation by

starring

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...

, and

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has Paresh Rawal filmography, appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient of various L ...

* '' Nee Tata Naa Birla'',

Kannada film Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

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 Works about flight attendants French plays adapted into films