My friend Naomi McDougall Jones called me out of the blue in May to ask if I knew anything about Marc Camoletti’s play Boeing, Boeing. I said I knew Mark Rylance was in it on Broadway awhile back. 

She asked if I could go out to Hailey, Idaho, to fill in for that very role for the Liberty Theatre Co., for whom she is the Artistic/Executive Director. Rehearsals were starting in five days. The show would open about three weeks after that and run for another three. “The fact that you haven’t hung up already is kind of amazing,” she said. 

Suddenly, I was air dropping into this production. 

My main request was to be put up in a place with good wifi and no cats. David Janeski and Aly Wepplo, a pair of talented actors and musicians, with whom I have a bunch of shared acquaintances in Richmond, were very kind and generous in putting me up. I had the added bonus of hearing them rehearse their music duo. 

The talent in Sun Valley is astounding. The low mountains nearby were striking. The theatre space, the Liberty Theatre, a separate organization from the producing company, was wonderful. An art deco gem, it was owned by Bruce Willis and Demi Moore for a number of years. The playing space was warm and the house was cozy. 

The play was a great challenge. My character was on most of the play. The language was specific and tricky. The intricacies of the farce and the need to be clear at every moment called on a lot of comedic skills. I decided to make it more of a physical role. How physical? I went through several pairs of pants during the short run.  

The play was a great challenge. My character was on most of the play. The language was specific and tricky. The intricacies of the farce and the need to be clear at every moment called on a lot of comedic skills. I decided to make it more of a physical role. How physical? I went through several pairs of pants during the short run.  

Our director, Veronica Moonhill, has contagious energy and was so good at getting us to play and try a bunch of things. She also did the wonderful costumes. I can’t say enough about the cast—Andrew Alburger, Tim Goodwin, Hannah Nye, Tiara Thompson, and Naomi McDougall Jones. So alive and so giving! James Haycock designed and Tim Black made a beautiful set. Each door opened into another world. Tess Makena is someone who can do anything and she showed that every day with the lights and anything else that needed any attention. Joe Conley Golden masterfully handled the dialect coaching, Onni Peterson jumped in as the production stage manager and Castor Sullivan cracked me up each night doing backstage crew duties. Special shout out to Audra Honaker for the time she was able to spend with us. 

Chris Carwithen’s marketing and word of mouth did its thing, and we broke box office records. I loved loved loved doing this play and wish it could have run eight more months. But—blink, blink—it was over and, after a quick stop at Voodoo Donuts with Tim Goodwin in the Denver Airport, I was back in NYC.