When in Paris, Trois Fiancées for Bernard

Oh la la, Paris, the dazzling city of love, where romances begin, bloom and blossom. But is it possible for too much love to exist? Boeing, Boeing is the classic farce written by French playwright, Marc Camoletti. This English adaptation tells the tale of a man living his fantasy in the1960s. Meet Bernard, the handsome and successful architect, living a swinging bachelor’s life. With the help of his maid, he manages to juggle three gorgeous air hostesses. All of them think they are his one true love, when in reality, he is engaged to all three! His fiancées are American, German and Italian and all travel different flight schedules for different airlines.

Jennifer Gilg as Gabriella, Courtney Stein as Gloria, Teri Fender as Gretchen

But with the new and speedier Boeing jet and a naïve childhood friend, Robert, coming to stay, Bernard’s two-timing or in this case three-timing ways are at risk. Suddenly, all three ladies arrive simultaneously at his apartment. Will he be able to keep all three ladies in the dark of his scheming ways? Or will catastrophe loom as the truth unfolds?  

Some of the actors from the production give a little insight to their characters and their lives. Anthony Clark-Kaczmarek, who plays Bernard, doesn’t feel too much in common with his character. “In terms of my character, he is not like me at all in my real life. I’ve been married for 20 years, and I suppose the one thing about Bernard is that he is extremely organized and has a plan for everything,” said Anthony. “I would relate to that. I’m a pretty organized guy; I normally have a schedule, and I follow that.”

“Part of the fun in being able to play these characters is that you have to be able to figure out how to be on their side because on the face of it, Bernard is conniving and certainly not the most honest guy in the world although he is not purposefully trying to hurt anyone,” said Anthony. “The challenge is to trying to identify with him and figuring out where he is coming from, so I can play an honest portrayal of the character.”

Monty Eich, who plays Robert, describes his character as nervous, sincere and totally out of depth.  He understands Robert’s personality. “I too, am nervous around air hostesses!” said Monty.

The cast was also asked, what would be their ultimate life fantasy. Anthony said, “Traveling and being able to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I would love that.”

“I’d like to be able to support my family doing comedy full-time, being able to travel and share those experiences,” said Monty. “Or a Froyo machine in the house. Imagine frozen yogurt whenever you wanted!”

“We’ve all had a moment or two in our lives where we thought we had everything figured out only to have it unravel,” said Monty. “Bernard’s situation may be extreme, but it’s a feeling we’ve all had.”

Jennifer Gilg as Gabriella, Courtney Stein as Gloria, Teri Fender as Gretchen

“Audiences will enjoy the production because it’s a situation comedy,” said Anthony. “Audiences who watch television are very familiar to these scenarios.  If you have no conflict and all of a sudden, the conflict happens and unfolds all on stage, it’s thrillingly fun to watch.  Kind of like watching a long-form sitcom but in three acts,” said Anthony.

Don’t miss this hilariously gut-busting production, Boeing, Boeing, April 18-May 11, in the Howard and Rhonda Hawks Mainstage at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Tickets are $35for adults and $21 for students. For groups of 12 or more, adult tickets are $23 and student tickets are $15. For more information call (402) 553-0080, visit the Box Office or click here.  

Story by Yoyo Ma