Sarah Kesselring and Timothy Chivalette Photo by Emily Gehlar

Written in French by Marc Camoletti and translated by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans, the play must have been pretty racy for its time. Bernard is an architect living in Paris who juggles three girlfriends, all of whom are air hostesses (we used to call them stewardesses back then). The way it works out for him is that they fly long-distance routes for three different airlines (Lufthansa, Alitalia, and TWA). Only one of them is in Paris at any given time, and they spend their layovers (in more than one sense of that word) in his apartment. He has proposed to all three, and each considers herself his fiancée.

Out of the blue, Bernard's nerdy college friend Robert from Wisconsin shows up in Paris to stay with Bernard for a few days. Bernard's comfy scheme is disrupted not so much by Robert's presence as it is by the fact that the Boeing company has made faster airplanes, so that each girlfriend is not away as long as she used to be. Add to that some weather-related incidents, and it's no surprise that all three end up in Bernard's apartment at the same time. Luckily, there are four doors behind which two of them can be hidden at any one time.

These kinds of farces require crack timing and a sturdy set (all those doors opening and closing). The Mondrian-influenced set design by Jason Roman is gorgeous and totally functional. I would move into that apartment if I could. Costumes by Rachel Capener and props by Calleigh Fife are spot-on for the early '60s.

Director Brandon Thomsen has chosen fine actors and rehearsed them well. The three "fiancées" all handle their accents well: Sarah Kesselring (German), Nicee Brown (Italian), and Darby Kolwyck (Noo Yawk). Maybe their characters are stereotypes, but they're supposed to be. Alli Marie acts with Gallic deadpan as the put-upon maid who has seen a little too much hanky panky in this apartment. It's fun every time she emerges from the kitchen.

Isaac Dean Carrillo is suave and slick as the playboy, looking like he stepped off of a 1960s TV screen, but then he's comical when he loses his composure as his three-way juggling act falls apart. The meatiest role is that of Robert, and Timothy Chivalette does it full justice. Geeky at first, and progressively frazzled as he has to deal separately with each girlfriend when Bernard is not home, Mr. Chivalette makes you believe that his actions and reactions are spontaneous, not rehearsed. It's a textbook comedy performance.

This play doesn't pretend to have any redeeming social message or to be anything other than a clever comedy. It's the kind of play that isn't written much nowadays. Maybe farce is considered old-fashioned, but judging from the audience's reaction at the Albuquerque Little Theatre, even though it's 66 years old, Boeing Boeing is still a crowd-pleaser.

Boeing Boeing runs through May 10, 2026, at Albuquerque Little Theatre, 224 San Pasquale Avenue SW, Albuquerque NM. For tickets and information, please visit albuquerquelittletheatre.org.