BWW Reviews: BOEING BOEING Takes Off At Totem Pole Playhouse

Farce is one of the most beloved forms of theatre, and without doubt one of the hardest to write; it is also one of the forms with the oldest theatrical traditions. Found in Greek and Roman theatre, it's also found in Shakespeare (COMEDY OF ERRORS) and Chaucer, and it's an English theatrical staple that, among English playwrights, found its highest calling possibly among Ray Cooney and Michael Frayn. However, its greatest exponents may be French - Feydeau (A FLEA IN HER EAR) and the author of the most performed French play known, not Moliere but Marc Camoletti. Written in French, it was promptly translated into English by Beverley Cross and first performed in London in 1962; it proceeded to run for seven years. It is, of course, BOEING BOEING, the French play considered one of the two primary examples of that sturdy theatrical tradition, the British sex farce (the other being the equally classic NO SEX PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH).

BOEING BOEING, to the delight of comedy fans in this region, is the second farce on this season's schedule at Totem Pole Playhouse, and what could be a more perfect pair of classic farces on a summer schedule than NOISES OFF and BOEING BOEING? At a time when the farce is back in fashion internationally in theatres - English critic Mark Lawson suggests it's because of the current political situation, which isn't far off from farce itself - it's here in the area, and blessedly so. (It's also nice to see this region engaged in a current theatre trend while that trend is actually fresh, and not several seasons in the past elsewhere.) Directed by that perennial Totem Pole staple, the beloved Carl Schurr, BOEING BOEING may be nostalgic in plot - all those flight attendants, in all those lovely high-fashion uniforms - but its style and its production values are hardly dated, and it still feels modern, fifty years after its first English presentation. The best farce somehow never really ages; its form of comedy is universal.

Albert Pero III stars as the presumably irrepressible Bernard, the bachelor "man with a plan" - in his case, how to juggle three fiancées, none of whom know about each other. It helps to have an apartment near the airport, as all three are flight attendants on different airlines, with different routes and timetables, and to have a long-suffering maid who changes photographs, changes flowers, and changes menus as each of the women arrives in town. Pero, a Totem Pole veteran, brings sufficient energy to Bernard to make his plotting and his attempted execution of his plans believable. They couldn't be done by anyone without incredible stamina, in more than one area of his life.

The three fiancées are played by Goodspeed Opera House veteran Kristen Calgero, by Broadway and Totem Pole veteran Katrina Yaukey, and by Amy Decker. The names of the fiancées have somehow gravitated from a trio of "J" initial names to a trio of "G" names throughout the fifty-year life of the show, and so the three fiancées are Gloria, an American from TWA, Gabriella, an Italian from Alitalia, and Gretchen, a German from Lufthansa. (Not only was Gabriella once Jacqueline, but she was also French. If you remember the show from years ago, no, you're not imagining that something's changed.)

The three flight attendants couldn't be more different - except in their shared belief that they are each the only woman in Bernard's life, and in, we discover, their assertive (or is that aggressive, in these cases?) streaks. Gloria proclaims that women are the ones in charge of any marriage; Gabriella is supremely demanding; Gretchen is a full-fledged Valkyrie on a roll, ready to argue at the drop of a hat and to force the other side into submission.

Of the three, Yaukey's Gabriella is the standout - tall, leggy, and completely captivating to the audience. She's a very fine actress who, despite her primarily musical theatre background, certainly has no problem communicating with the audience in a straight comedy - and she's a miracle of restraint in an unrestrained form of theatre. Decker's belligerent Gretchen is perhaps just a trace too over-the-top in her Germanness; is there really a need (granted, Camoletti suggests it) to slide into Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, in her attitude when she's angry? It's an unnecessary German stereotype to play at, whether intentional or not. Calgaro's Gloria is delightful but something's missing playing against Yaukey; she doesn't quite develop the same rapport with the audience. If there's a flaw in Schurr's direction, it's in not quite equalizing these three women's balance on stage.

As Robert, Bernard's visiting old school chum from the States, Noah Applebaum does a fine, fine job of bewilderment and confusion, and his physical comedy, that necessary staple of farce, is equally delightful. His ability to lie? Robert's badly impaired there, although it somehow never really seems to make a bad situation any worse. Totem Pole uses the Drury Lane (Chicago) Theatre convention of making Robert a naïve guy from the back woods of Wisconsin, though, and - admittedly nothing is ever explained in farce - one somehow wonders how he and sophisticated architect Bernard were such close friends in school.

The chief delight of this play, though, is Bernard's not-so-devoted maid, Bertha, played by ever-popular regional actress and Totem Pole veteran Catherine Blaine, a former Allenberry performer as well. It's always a treat to see Blaine on stage, and, in this case, to watch Bertha begin to decompensate as her clockwork plans for changing flowers and feeding each women their favorite foods begins to collapse under the weight of changed flight schedules all hitting at the same time. Blaine's remarkably nuanced in even the broadest parts, and Bertha's hysteria at being unable to control anything in the situation is incredibly funny - in Blaine's hands, possibly even funnier than Robert's ham-fisted handling of the chaos.

Is it really necessary to state that James Fouchard once again has the best sets in the region? Of late, when farces have been on stage, only Rainbow, in Lancaster, has been even close in the realism of their sets. Fouchard is, simply, the best scenic designer in the area. Totem Pole has not had one false or weak spot in their sets and props this season, and their set for NOISES OFF is still the finest set design this reviewer has seen in 2013.

Timing is everything in farce, and, while there were one or two opening-night slow moments, Schurr has the show running almost to clockwork. The on-stage pacing's fine; it's the riot of door timings for entrances that felt off by half a second at a few moments. Otherwise, it's a wonderful show. For anyone who remembers this classic, it's still worth seeing again. If you haven't seen BOEING BOEING in your life, you've missed out, and this is a perfect time to fix the omission.

At Totem Pole through August 4. Call 717-3522164 or visit www.totempoleplayhouse.org for tickets.

Photo courtesy of Totem Pole Playhouse

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