PLAY REVIEW: 'Boeing Boeing' is funny funny

Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, explains the Lufthansa bag and women’s clothing to Gloria, dressed in red for TWA, played by Amanda Ryan Paige in “Boeing Boeing,”  a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

In case of emergency, the exits are on the either side and your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device.

And remember: When watching the new Mason Street Warehouse play “Boeing Boeing” at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, remain seated until the entire show is over because the plot twists and comedic turns will bounce you from laugh to laugh before landing.

The show, which opened Aug. 17, runs through Sept. 2. Times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday and 2 p.m. on the final Sunday. Tickets range from $26 to $39.75.

For more information, visit sc4a.org.

Gretchen, dressed in yellow for Lufthansa, is played by Kayla Peabody.

The play about an architect juggling his three flight attendant fiancees in Paris in the 1960s flies at supersonic speed from the brink of chaos, through romantic turbulence to domestic bliss.

Bernard the architect, played by Sean Allan Krill, starts the day as a calm and calculating man who uses an airline timetable and the love of the number three — “Three is the dream,” he tells his old college friend Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, who is passing through Paris  — to balance relationships with flight attendants Gloria (dressed in red for TWA) played by Amanda Ryan Paige, Gabriella (dressed in blue for Alitalia) played by Kathryn Merry and Gretchen (dressed in yellow for Lufthansa) played by Kayla Peabody. The three-fiancee life has all the advantages of marriage without the hassle, he says — as long as the women never meet.

The trusted timetable breaks down, though, and all three women end up in Bernard’s apartment with his frustrated maid Berthe, played by Kate Young. A former flight attendant herself (from Air Scotland), Berthe spirals into frustration at balancing what food to serve each woman as they fly through the apartment.

The rainbow parade of stewardesses really takes off when Gretchen from Germany bursts on the scene and overwhelms the stage with her Teutonic traits. The dancing on the furniture signals the turbulence about to arrive.

Gloria from America turns on the jets when demonstrating the red-hot science of kissing to Wisconsin-born Robert, complete with sound effects, that boils love down to the only color missing from the stewardess stage — green.

Gabriella from Italy steadies the entire show in calming blue with her devotion to monogamy and love.

Bernard, played by Sean Allan Krill, starts to panic.

Krill does a great job playing a man who is descending into comic chaos — watch his face as the decor is constantly switched by a frantic Berthe to match the color of company. He is actually sweating when his world of women starts to unwind.

“I love to describe this show as ‘Frasier’ meets ‘Pan Am’ meets ‘Mad Men,’ ” Kurt Stamm, arts center artistic director and founder of Mason Street Warehouse, said in a press release previewing the show. “It’s one of the funniest plays I’ve seen in New York in the past 10 years, and we’re thrilled to present the West Michigan premier.”

“Boeing Boeing” is by Marc Camoletti; translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans; directed by Kathryn Markey; presented through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

More pictures

Gretchen, dressed in yellow for Lufthansa, introduces herself in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16. Kayla Peabody plays the German love interest.

Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, left, and Bernard, played by Sean Allan Krill, try to keep a lid on the chaos in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Gloria, played by Amanda Ryan Paige, heats up the stage with Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Bernard, played by Sean Allan Krill, and Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, discuss a crisis in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Gabriella, played by Kathryn Merry, and Gretchen, dressed in yellow, played by Kayla Peabody, are two of three fiancees of Bernard, played by Sean Allan Krill, in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

The flight attendants in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, are, from left,  Gabriella (dressed in blue for Alitalia) played by Kathryn Merry, Gretchen (dressed in yellow for Lufthansa) played by Kayla Peabody, and Gloria (dressed in red for TWA) played by Amanda Ryan Paige.

Bernard, right, played by Sean Allan Krill, explains to his friend Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, how he keeps his three fiancees from finding out about each other in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Gabriella (dressed in blue for Alitalia) played by Kathryn Merry, takes a seat in a Paris home in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Housekeeper Berthe, played by Kate Young, is exhausted by the goings-on in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Robert, played by Harry Bouvy, tries to keep a secret from Gabriella, played by Kathryn Merry, in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Bernard, played by Sean Allan Krill, realizes his plans are falling apart in “Boeing Boeing,” a play put on by Mason Street Warehouse at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts on Thursday, Aug. 16.

Councilman sees the light — is OK with 4-way stop

After three years and a busy weekend downtown, Saugatuck City Councilman Henry VanSingel is giving the accidental four-way traffic light at Butler and Water streets the green light.

“It works,” said the former stop light skeptic during Monday’s city council meeting.

The city’s only traffic light malfunctioned in August 2009, going from the green-yellow-red cycle to just blinking red in all four directions. Old age was to blame.

Three years ago, City Manager Kirk Harrier advocated for keeping it a four-way stop, saying pedestrians didn’t know when to cross with the solid colors and were still in the intersection when the light turned green. Traffic backed up quickly, he said.

“Traffic flows smoothly when it blinks,” he said three years ago.

VanSingel — a doubter all those years — now agrees.

He watched the traffic and pedestrians at the intersection during last weekend’s tourist crush and is now convinced the blinking-red light is the best way to go.

The lakeshore town had made a tradition of switching the light from blinking red (for the winter) to full-cycle each spring (for the summer crowds), holding its Changing of the Light ceremony.

The town crier would open the ceremony with a boisterous declaration and the top-hat crowned mayor then switched the light to its full tourist season colors.

The first person to drive through the reactivated light got a certificate noting his or her accomplishment.

Saugatuck reconsiders rail on Hoffman Street

People walk up the sidewalk along the First Congregational Church in Saugatuck.

Four months ago, Joy Muehlenbeck of Saugatuck approached the Saugatuck City Council to ask for a hand rail along about 220 feet of sidewalk on Hoffman Street.

The city balked at the idea when the prices came in as high $12,000-$25,000.

Muehlenbeck didn’t give up and was back before the city council last week with a lower estimate of $6,600. She got the estimate herself and based on a railing design at the Old School House History Center, 130 Center St.

Cars park along the slope to the Saugatuck Woman’s Club.

The city will get formal specifications from the company Muehlenbeck spoke with and get more details and costs.

“Thanks for dogging us on this,” said Councilman Barry Johnson.

“It’s a very difficult hill to go down,” she said. “At night, it’s particularly difficult.”

A railing would help keep the site accessible, especially in the winter. “It’s so, so important for people who are mobile and just need that security,” she added about a railing.

The sidewalk slopes from the First Congregational Church, 296 Hoffman St., to the Saugatuck Woman’s Club, 303 Butler St. There is a free parking lot at the top of the hill by the church.

The Woman’s Club is the site of many community events, such as the Chamber Music Festival in the summer and productions of “A Christmas Carol” in the winter.

City Manager Kirk Harrier originally suggested putting more handicap-accessible parking by the Woman’s Club so people wouldn’t have to walk from the church. People who are not handicapped, though, still use the sloped sidewalk, Muehlenbeck said.

A resident has requested a railing for the sidewalk that slopes from the First Congregational Church, 296 Hoffman St., to the Saugatuck Woman’s Club, 303 Butler St.