Supporting the Arts in Western Massachusetts and Beyond

March 3, 2019

REVIEW: Majestic Theater, Boeing Boeing

Majestic Theater, West Springfield, MA
through March 31, 2019
by Konrad Rogowski

They say you can tell how good a silly sex farce is by the number of doors through which folks suddenly enter, just as someone else is making an equally sudden exit to avoid drastic/comic results. To his credit, director Rand Foerster has five such doors, which adds up to an evening of very funny “how will they get out of this mess?” moments.

The plot is as thin as the ethics and motives of the lead, played with appropriate physical and facial mugging by Jack Grigoli, as he plots how to balance his three (yes, three) airline stewardess “fiancés’” travel schedules to keep his love life from going into a tail spin. This is somewhat complicated, since they all live with him in his Paris apartment, each on a different shift.

Photo by Kait Rankins
His grounding force in this madness, is his maid, Bertha, played with delightful disgust and dismay by Christine Anthony, as she hurriedly whips up appropriate foods for his American, German, and Italian conquests, and runs about swapping out pictures and anything else that might give the whole scheme away. Jack’s long-lost friend arrives, played by Scott Renzoni, who tries, and fails, to be the voice of reasons, as he slowly succumbs to the wiles of all three women. Kyle Boatwright, Katie Mack, and Larissa Marten round out the cast, each as comically high flying as the next.

The set is straight out of the 1960’s Paris chic playbook, right down to that obligatory shag rug. The comedy all comes down to that final scene that could nose dive everyone into disaster, but is saved by the quick-talking guys whose logic, defies both reason and the laws of gravity. “Boeing Boeing” is a barnstorming night of fun and frolic.