Boeing-Boeing - Kevin McNally joins cast
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
FROM September 3, 2007, for four weeks only, Pirates of the Caribbean star Kevin McNally will play Parisian playboy Bernard in the hit West End comedy Boeing-Boeing, which is currently booking until October 20, 2007 at the Comedy Theatre.
McNally’s extensive theatre credits include World Music (Donmar Warehouse), The Lady in the Van (Queens Theatre), Naked (Almeida Theatre Company), Dead Funny and Plunder (Savoy Theatre) and Exact Change (Lyric Hammersmith).
His screen credits include The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy (as Gibbs), De-Lovely, The Phantom of the Opera, Johnny English, Sliding Doors, Irish Jam, Entrapment and the forthcoming Valkyrie with Tom Cruise (film); and Life On Mars, Bloodlines, Dunkirk, Spooks, Shackleton, Rab C Nesbitt, Enigma and Diana (TV).
McNally, who takes over from Adrian Dunbar in Boeing-Boeing, will join a cast that includes Doon Mackichan, Amy Nuttall, Rhea Perlman, Elena Roger and Neil Stuke.
Previously Posted: On June 25, 2007, Rhea Perlman will make her London stage debut playing long-suffering housekeeper Bertha in Matthew Warchus’ production of Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy Theatre.
Perlman is probably best known for her portrayal of feisty and quick-witted waitress Carla Tortelli in the American sitcom classic Cheers (all 273 episodes); a role for which she was Emmy nominated an unprecedented ten times over 11 years, winning four times.
However, she first came to the public’s attention playing Zena Sherman opposite her husband Danny DeVito in the US sitcom Taxi. Her other TV credits include guest appearances in St. Elsewhere, Mad About You, Ally McBeal, Fraiser, Karen Sisco and Kevin Hill, as well as Executive Producing and starring as Kate Brasher in ABC’s Pearl.
On stage in America, Perlman has appeared in The Exonerated, The Tale of Allergist’s Wife and The Last Night in Ballyhoo; while her film credits include Matilda (in which she was directed by and co-starred opposite Danny DeVito), Sunset Park, Carpool, Canadian Bacon, Class Act and Ted and Venus.
She has recently written a series of children’s books entitled Otto Phillip: Undercover.
In Boeing-Boeing, which is now booking until October 20, 2007, Perlman will join Adrian Dunbar, Doon Mackichan, Amy Nuttall, Elena Roger and Neil Stuke.
Previously Posted: On May 29, 2007, Elena Roger, Doon Mackichan, Adrian Dunbar and Neil Stuke will join the cast of the hit comedy Boeing-Boeing, which is currently playing to packed houses at the Comedy Theatre.
Roger, who takes over from Daisy Beaumont as Italian stewardess Gabriella, made her British stage debut only last year in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of Evita at the Adelphi Theatre. For her performance as Eva Peron, she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a musical.
In her native Buenos Aires, she has appeared in the original production of Nine, directed by David Leveaux, Beauty and the Beast, Les Misérables (as Fantine) and Saturday Night Fever (as Annette).
Mackichan, who takes over from Michelle Gomez as Lufthansa stewardess Gretchen, is probably best known for her television work in the comedy show Smack the Pony which she co-wrote and performed with Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips.
Her stage credits include A Respectable Wedding (Young Vic), The Sacred Heart and Mother Courage (both at the National Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Almeida Theatre) and The Queen and I (Royal Court).
Dunbar’s credits include King Lear (in the title role), Saved, Pope’s Wedding and Ghosts (on stage); Shooters, A World Apart, The Crying Game, Hear My Song and My Left Foot (film); and Cracker, Woman’s Guide to Adultery and Tough Love (TV).
Stuke’s theatre credits include Blue/Orange (Duchess Theatre), The Bullet (Donmar Warehouse), American Buffalo (Young Vic) and Mojo (Royal Court); while on television he has appeared in Game On, The Catherine Tate Show, Elizabeth – The Virgin Queen, Murphy’s Law, Grafters and Silent Witness.
Dunbar and Stuke replace Roger Allam and Mark Rylance as Bernard and Robert respectively.
Previously Posted: From May 14, 2007, Amy Nuttall will join the cast of Matthew Warchus’ hit West End production of Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy Theatre.
Nuttall, who takes over from Tamzin Outhwaite as TWA stewardess Gloria, is probably best known for her role as Chloe Atkinson in the long-running soap Emmerdale.
However, she appeared as Eliza Doolittle in the UK tour of Trevor Nunn’s production of My Fair Lady alongside Christopher Cazenove and Honor Blackman; and when she was just 16, was lead understudy for the role of Christine in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
She was last seen on the West End stage playing Sarah Brown alongside Patrick Swayze, and then Don Johnson, in Michael Grandage’s production of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre.
She has also released an album of classical/folk songs, Best Days, which was nominated for a 2006 Classical Brit Award; and is currently recording her second album which is due for release in September.
Previously Posted: From April 30, 2007, Patricia Hodge will take over the role of Bertha, the long-suffering housekeeper, from Frances de la Tour in Marc Camoletti’s classic farce, Boeing-Boeing, at the Comedy Theatre.
Hodge’s numerous theatre credits include His Dark Materials, Noises Off, Summerfolk and Money (all at the National), Heartbreak House, The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, Noel And Gertie and Separate Tables.
On television, she has appeared in Sweet Medicine, The Falklands Play (as Margaret Thatcher), Rich Tea and Sympathy and Rumpole of the Bailey (as Phyllida Erskine-Brown).
Hodge will continue in the role until June 23, 2007.
Previously Posted: Matthew Warchus’ critically acclaimed production of Boeing-Boeing, which is currently playing to packed houses at the Comedy Theatre, has extended its booking period until October 20, 2007.
Roger Allam, Mark Rylance, Daisy Beaumont and Michelle Gomez are expected to continue in their roles until June 23, 2007. Any recasting will be announced shortly.
Previously Posted: The three air hostesses in the revival of Marc Camoletti’s comedy, Boeing-Boeing, which opens at the Comedy Theatre on February 15, 2007 (previews from February 3), will be played by Daisy Beaumont, Michelle Gomez and Tamzin Outhwaite.
Beaumont’s credits include Star Stories, Down to Earth, This Life, Close Relations and EastEnders (TV); and The Day I Stood Still (NT), Virtual Reality, Private Lives and The Twelve Pound Look (theatre).
Gomez’ TV credits include The Green Wing (as Staff Liaison Officer Sue White), The Book Group (for which she was BAFTA-nominated), The Lead Balloon, Wedding Belles, My Family, Manchild and Carrie and Barrie.
Her stage credits include Trainspotting, The Vagina Monologues, Sleep with Me and The Master Builder.
Outhwaite’s credits include EastEnders, Red Cap, Hustle, Frances Tuesday and Hotel Babylon (TV); and Breathing Corpses and Flesh Wound (theatre).
Previously Posted: A revival of Marc Camoletti’s 1961 French comedy, Boeing-Boeing, opens on February 15, 2007 (previews from February 3) at the West End’s Comedy Theatre where it is initially booking until April 28, 2007.
It will star Roger Allam, Mark Rylance and Frances de la Tour.
Bernard (Allam), an English playboy in Paris, has an insatiable appetite for beautiful women. His three girlfriends are air hostesses working for different airlines, and each believes she is his one true love.
To ensure they never meet, Bernard has devised a sophisticated timetable so they can each spend the night at his apartment whenever they stop over in Paris.
Everything proceeds like clockwork, thanks to the assistance of Bertha, Bernard’s long suffering and faithful housekeeper – until the arrival of the new ‘Super (fast) Boeing’ which changes the airline schedules and leaves Bernard with a lot of explaining to do!
And with the arrival of his old school friend Robert (Rylance), mayhem and matchmaking ensue.
Allam has been nominated four times for an Olivier Award for Best Actor, winning it for the Donmar Warehouse production of Privates on Parade. His most recent West End credits include Aladdin, Democracy and Blackbird. He also appeared alongside Helen Mirren in the highly acclaimed film The Queen.
Rylance is possibly our greatest Shakespearean actor and as such, has won numerous awards including the Oliver Award for Best Actor for Much Ado about Nothing. Until 2005, he was artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe where his many acting credits include Henry V, Twelfth Night and The Tempest.
Although de la Tour will always be remembered for her role as Miss Jones in the classic BBC comedy Rising Damp, her theatre credits are numerous and include The History Boys (also on screen), The Cherry Orchard, Three Tall Women and Duet for One.
Matthew Warchus will direct.
Boeing-Boeing is designed by Rob Howell, with lighting by Hugh Vanstone, original music by Claire van Kampen and sound by Simon Baker. The curtain call is devised by Bruno Tonioli.
Boeing-Boeing is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G Bartner and Bob Boyett.