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Although it looks like a Feydeauian door-slammer, the play actually falls on the gentler side of the sex romp. It's the absolutely stellar performances and expert direction by Dennis Hennessy, then, that put the spring in "Boeing."
The slight story concerns American businessman and lothario Bernard, who carefully monitors world flight schedules to juggle simultaneous romances with three flight attendants, each of whom thinks herself his one betrothed. When old friend Robert shows up unexpectedly at Bernard's Paris apartment, bad weather and last-minute flight changes land all three fiancees back home at the same time -- as if any other outcome were possible.
Observing and serving a complicit role in the triplicity is Bernard's housekeeper, played with a deadpan scowl by veteran sitcom actor Marla Gibbs. Although she achieved fame as another domestic on "The Jeffersons," Gibbs plays it differently in "Boeing Boeing" with a world-weariness taming -- but not obliterating -- the snark.
The show offers many plum roles, especially for Bernard's three loves. They're written as caricatures: a flighty and slightly slutty American, a sultry and passionate Italian, and a Teutonically Amazonian German. And that's the genius, at least in 2008, letting actresses and director toy with the stereotypes, placing them slightly outside the real world and generating plenty of funny.
Heidi Van slowly reveals increasingly mercenary layers as American Gloria, whose questionable devotion to Bernard gives her the night's most hilarious sight gag. (You'll still be giggling hours later.) Jessalyn Kincaid's Isabella Rossellini gorgeousness and emotional sincerity make her the most grounded and sympathetic of the paramours as Gabriella, though she also shows a powerfully comic touch.
Jan Chapman goes out on the highest limb as Lufthansa's own Gretchen. Her Brigitte Nielsen-cum-milkmaid performance is a marvel of exaggeration and restraint. When she flings David Fritts' Robert into a wall like a piece of dirty laundry, it's at once over the top and perfectly in keeping with the character's outsized passions.
The always-sturdy Craig Benton has several good moments as the cheating Bernard, but it's really Fritts who gets the lion's share of the anxiety -- and chuckle-inducing moments as the ultimate wingman. Directing traffic around the multi-doored apartment with inventive misdirection and choreography, he pulls out every trick apart from semaphore. The consummate everyday Joe, Fritts brings Robert from milquetoast to loverboy with a bizarrely appropriate mix of bewilderment and confidence.
Jason Coale's set, featuring ivory arches and classical corbels accented by Barcelona chairs and a knockoff PH Artichoke chandelier, is the ideal neutral (and architecturally implausible) venue for Mary Traylor's colorful costumes.
The Broadway revival of "Boeing Boeing" earned two Tonys in NYC this year, but good timing won the New Theatre a lucky break with the licensing. The show is bawdy but not dirty, raucous but not raunchy, and incredibly enjoyable.
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THE SHOW
"Boeing Boeing" runs through Feb. 1 at the New Theatre Restaurant, 9229 Foster in Overland Park. Tickets cost $33 to $49 depending on the day of the show. Call 913-649-7469 or go to www.newtheatre.com.
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