In the theater world, Eleanor Cotey happily provides a stitch in time

If Eleanor Cotey were a member of the Avengers (and this is the kind of hypothetical question that could be discussed in the Cotey household), she might be called Needle.

She was born to sew and has not wavered from that calling, to the benefit and gratitude of local theater and dance companies.

Her handiwork, including her re-creations of vintage airline stewardess outfits, is helping Milwaukee Chamber Theatre bring to life its season-opening farce, "Boeing Boeing." Performances begin Aug. 13 at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway.

Marc Camoletti's farce, featuring a bachelor in Paris juggling simultaneous romances with three stewardesses, had a successful life in the 1960s and spawned a 1965 film featuring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis.

 photo:formal dress shops brisbane

A new English translation by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans gave this French farce a Badger flavor: Robert, the meek friend who visits swinging Bernard, is described as being from Wisconsin and was played in both London (2007) and on Broadway (2008) by Mark Rylance, who graduated from the University School of Milwaukee before going on to Shakespearean stardom. Rylance won a Tony for his performance.

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