Boeing-Boeing | |
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Written by | Marc Camoletti |
Date premiered | 10 December 1960 |
Place premiered | Comédie-Caumartin, Paris |
Original language | French |
Subject | “It all boils down to juggling timetables and a reliable maid who never forgets to change the photographs.” |
Genre | Comedy; farce |
Setting | Bernard's apartment, Paris, France |
Boeing-Boeing is a classic 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 in 1962 and transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for a total of seven years. In 1991, the play was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most performed French play throughout the world.
It’s the 1960s, and swinging bachelor Bernard couldn't be happier: a flat in Paris and three gorgeous stewardesses all engaged to him without knowing about each other. But Bernard’s perfect life gets bumpy when his friend Robert comes to stay and a new and speedier Boeing jet throws off all of his careful planning. Soon all three stewardesses are in town simultaneously, timid Robert is forgetting which lies to tell to whom, and catastrophe looms.
The English version of the play was first staged in London's West End at the Apollo Theatre in 1962 with David Tomlinson in the lead role and then transferred to the Duchess Theatre in 1965, running for a total of seven years.
The play was produced on Broadway at the Cort Theatre 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.
The play was also on in Blackpool at the South Pier during 1967 and featured Vicki Woolf, Dandy Nichols, Hugh Lloyd, Ann Sidney and Christina Taylor.
The play was adapted by W!LD RICE production in Singapore in 2002. It was directed by Glen Goei, Glen and the company revisited, modernized, and relocated this classic 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 & Mae Paner-Rosa.