Rene Foss in Around the World in a Bad Mood

Rene Foss' Around the World in a Bad Mood; Confessions of a Flight Attendant came in for a smooth landing Tuesday night at the Mesa Arts Center in the Nesbitt/Eliott Playhouse.

Ms. Foss and her crew of two will be displaying their protean talents for all to enjoy through April 3.

If you love comedy and have ever griped at how dysfunctional air travel has become, then this giddy, deliriously funny comedy should be high on your must see list.

From take off to landing, the delightful Rene Foss and her brilliantly gifted friends, Hector Coris and Rachael Lee, make Around the World appear lighter than air. This flight is filled with non-stop laughter as Foss and company poke delicious, manic fun at airlines and air travel. If flight attendants were as entertaining as Ms. Foss, Ms. Lee and Mr. Colis, then flying would definitely be more fun.

Rene Foss photo by Ed Krieger

Ms. Foss works for fictitious WAFTI Airlines (WAFTI is an acronym for “We apologize for this inconvenience”). WAFTI's motto is “We're not happy until you're not happy!” You had better make certain those seat belts are tightly fastened, especially when you are told the name of the airline's Web Site: “www. fuyour_screwedatwaftiairlines.com.”

Through a series of entertaining, droll vignettes and monologues, the audience learns how the other half, flight attendants, live and love. When asked if she is married, Ms. Foss replies, “I'm not married but my boyfriend is!” Foss amuses us with the female equivalent of the classic line about buying the cow: “Why buy the entire pig when all you want is a little sausage?” Oh. My! We are taught the secret language of flight attendants. Do you know how a stewardess says: screw you? Just ask a question or for some in flight service and listen for, “I”ll be right back!”

Mr. Coris is incredibly funny as a German stewardess, Mona Lot, one of his many flighty roles. His madcap scene is an introduction to Ms. Foss' schizophrenic, tour de force reenactment of Macbeth in airline terms. Foss uses her hilarious paper hand puppets to relate the scheduled movie after she inadvertently sabotages the plane's in flight film mechanics (Avenue Q be warned!). Of course, the Scottish play always leads to some unforeseen mayhem.

Rene Foss and her partners in meriment

The radiant Rachael Lee hits no false notes in her many scintillating and scathing parodies.

There is also a mystery guest star who appears in the play nightly. On opening night, it was the charming Teresa Hess, one of Ms. Foss' dearest friends, who flew all the way to Mesa from Naples, Florida for one night only to partake in the dizzy merriment of Around the World.

Collette Black directed the proceedings, not missing any opportunity for joyous, gargantuan guffaws.

If you're feeling grouchy and disoriented from your self-imposed layover then fly WAFTI. The loony, lunatic, side-splitting hilarity of Around the World in a Bad Mood will dispel all of life's peccadilloes and leave you with a happy, Cheshire cat's grin. You will be exhausted from laughter.

There is also a book that Ms.Foss has written as a companion piece to the show and it is sold and autographed by the star after each performance. It is published by Hyperion under the title, Around the World in a Bad Mood...Confessions of a Flight Attendant.

B'bye now; have a nice day! What? Oh, I'll be right back!

All photos courtesy of Mesa Arts Center.