So, we all agree that
Frank Franconeri is a genius; right? Any doubt should be put to rest
by seeing him in BOEING, BOEING at Millbrook Playhouse this week. His past roles have shown that he
is an excellent character actor, but none of those earlier characters
prepared us for his appearing as Berthe, the French maid.
A good farce demands lots
of doors on stage that can open, close and slam with perfect timing. BOEING, BOEINGhad
seven. It also requires over the top characters. Berthe, the maid
with a terrible French accent, was one of six such characters last
night.
Bernard, the happy
bachelor who has been able to juggle three beautiful women in and out
of his apartment was played by Zach McCoy. McCoy initially showed
great cool sophistication and a bit of pride at how well he had
everything scheduled. He was at his best though when things fell
apart. His hysterical scenes were a great contrast to the confidence
he had shown in the earlier scenes.
Joseph McGranagham as his
innocent, best friend Robert had the most opportunities for
hysterical scenes. I wish I had been permitted to take pictures of
some of his “couch scenes”. It was worth the price of a ticket
just to watch Berthe put some sexy moves on him. McGranagham is a
natural at physical comedy.
One of the things that I
found refreshing was the talent of the three women. Usually in a
farce the women are little more than a pretty face; not much is
expected of them. In BOEING, BOEING
each actress had her chance to shine!
Alex Sunderhaus was
Gloria, the airline hostess from America. What could have been a
pretty, charming character, Sunderhaus turned into a full
dimensional, free spirited woman.
The Italian bombshell
airline hostess was delightfully played by Connie Castanzo. Her
temper and passion were something to behold.
The most outrageous was
Oakley Boycott as the German stewardess, Gretchen. She had plenty of
chances to tear up the stage, and she took advantage of every one of
them.
These three women added a
dimension that I really appreciated. Each was strong and a woman to
be reckoned with. I guess we should say that the FOUR women were
strong, etc. We have to count Berthe, as well. The apartment would
not have been as well run without “her”.
Each year Millbrook can be depended upon for a farce that is popular with the audiences. This
year’s offering is one of the best.
BOEING, BOEING will
run until July 28th
in the Cabaret and then it will be replaced by Nunsense
A-Men! Always…Patsy Cline is the final show
on the Main Stage and will run until August the 4th.
I
will warn you that the shows have been sell-outs this summer. Call
570-748-8083 for ticket availability.
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