Theater Review: Repertory Philippines' Boeing Boeing

I still remember the time when landline phones and snail mails were the top means to communicate with friends and family. That seems like eons ago now that we have access to the internet and mobile phones.

Take a peek into how life was before today's modern technologies dominated peoples' lives. Watch Repertory Philippines' production of Boeing Boeing which is directed by Mr. Miguel Faustmann! It will have you laughing out loud numerous times during the show.

The story involves a love affair ... well ... three, actually ... between Bernard (David Bianco) and three gorgeous air hostesses from different international airlines: Gloria (Jennifer Blair-Bianco), the American who works at TWA; Gabriella (Giannina Ocampo), the Italian who flies Alitalia; and the German Gretchen (Carla Dunareanu) of Lufthansa. 

Adding confusion, I mean, fun to the fray are Robert (Topper Fabregas), Bernard's friend who's visiting from the province, and Bertha (Baby Barredo/Joy Virata), Bernard's quirky housekeeper.

Bernard thinks he has the perfect setup: one house (with a lot of doors!), three fiancees, an organized timetable, and a very helpful maid. It was just unfortunate that on the very day when his friend Robert comes to visit, the girls'  flights get changed and they all ended up being in Paris at the same time!

Now that's when the fun really started. I found myself catching my breath laughing at many of the  scenes, facial expressions, body movements, and dialogues that were delivered perfectly by the stellar cast. 

"Bernard" and "Robert" smoothly executed their scenes together despite the elements of stress and confusion.   They get funnier every time "Bertha" enters the scene to either complain or express her own caustic opinions. Tita Baby is soooo funny with her hand gestures and facial expressions. I would love to see Tita Joy also portray Bertha before the show's run ends.   

The three air hostesses are really eye candies. Men in audience won't definitely get bored. I love how each of them played their roles -- "Gabriella" may be sentimental but she sure can insist on what she wants; "Gretchen" is hilarious, aggressive, dominating but thin-skinned at the same time (she can also do stunts gracefully! how about that?!); and "Gloria" is the upbeat Southern belle who has a lot more in common with Bernard than he could ever imagine. 

I don't dare reveal how the story ends but the turn of events is pretty interesting. So, fasten your seat belts and get a lot of laughs on this bumpy ride as you take a look at what's life like during the '60s in this "big comedy of nineteen-sexty-sex":) It's sexy but the humor is delivered in good, clean, fun. Don't miss this show which will be at Onstage, Greenbelt 1 in Makati starting January 25 until February 17. 

(L-R) David, Topper, Tita Baby, Carla, Jennifer,
Giannina, Tita Joy, and Sir Miguel

For inquiries and other details, please call 5716926 or 5714941. Email info@repertory.ph or log on to www.repertory.ph. Tickets are also available through Ticketworld at 8919999 and www.ticketworld.com.ph. If you have any kind of boarding pass (no date required, the older the better!), you'll get 30% off on your show ticket! 

Read more about Boeing Boeing in my other blog so you can also get to know about the show's very capable behind-the-scenes teams as well as the partners who helped make the staging possible.