NWCC Theatre Presents "Boeing Boeing" in April

by Sarah Smith

Senatobia, MS (03/08/2024) — The Northwest Mississippi Community College Theatre Department is putting on a production of the theatre classic, "Boeing Boeing" at the Fine Arts Auditorium for two weekends in April. The show will be held April 12 and 13 at 7 p.m., April 14 at 2 p.m., April 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. and April 21 at 2 p.m.

"Boeing Boeing" is set in 1960s France and follows an entourage of characters from around the world including French, German, Italian, and Americans. The play was originally written by French playwright, Marc Camoletti.

The story is about the leading character Bernard, an American journalist and playboy, and his various fiancees, all stewardesses for airlines, and his efforts to try to balance his lifestyle with all these different women not knowing about each other.

Northwest theatre instructor and director of the play, Kayla Manzolillo, said that this story is a classic farce.

"As with any good farce, even the best-laid plans go completely awry as schedule changes result in Bernard's perfect plan dissolving into chaos," Manzolillo said. "With the help of his snarky maid Berthe, his friend Robert, and lots and lots of doors, Bernard attempts to get his life back on schedule."

This play is a challenging play to execute, according to Manzolillo, because of learning accents, getting the comedic timing right, and the stamina for a show like this.

"Although practicing an Italian accent is not the easiest task, it helps bring my character to life and honestly adds to her personality," said freshman Anna Landrum of Hernando, who plays Gabriella. "Gabriella is such a fun character to slip into, and I enjoy making her my own. I share such an amazing cast, and they all bring amazing qualities to their characters."

Manzolillo said that when you start a show, you never really know as a director that all the characters mesh together until a table read. She said upon their first table read she said the cast had a blast, and it was one of the most fun read-throughs she'd ever been a part of.

"The students have really been working so hard to learn their dialects, and thank goodness for (Northwest theatre instructor) Alyssa Algee acting as dialect coach for this show," Manzolillo said. "She has been coaching them individually, and they are already sounding phenomenal!"

Students both from the theatre department and other paths of study are a part of the theatre productions at Northwest, giving them a chance to dig into the college experience of learning.

"We have had so much interest from students, not just theatre majors, in helping with the technical aspects and anyone interested in working on the show is getting the opportunity to do so," Manzolillo said. "We have student designers (lights, sound, props, and hair and makeup) and a ton of volunteers to work crews. This is really going to be a student-driven show, and as an educator, I could not be more excited to see what they can do!"

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