Nathan Mitchell is now making his professional debut as a director with the Purple Rose Theatre’s production of “Boeing-Boeing” — despite the fact that one thing about the project made him nervous: directing his wife, actress Stacie Hadgikosti.

“That was the first thing I said,” said Mitchell, referring to a conversation he had more than a year ago with Purple Rose artistic director Guy Sanville. “So I was a little nervous at first, and I thought (Stacie and I) would have to lay down some ground rules. Like, ‘When we go home, let’s turn off, and let’s just live our normal lives.’ But that’s not happening. … She’ll go, ‘What do you think about this?’ And I’ll say, ‘Well, I’m trying to brush my teeth right now.’”

Marc Camoletti's “Boeing,” which had a celebrated, Tony Award-winning Broadway revival in 2008 (using Beverley Cross’ adaptation, which the Rose is also using), tells the story of an American man, Bernard, who’s living in Paris while engaged to three different airline hostesses. Bernard’s carefully plotted schedule runs like clockwork until unexpected changes bring all three women to his apartment at the same time.

Sanville has a soft spot in his heart for the comedy, partly because Bernard was the first role he ever played.

“And when (‘Boeing’) was revived on Broadway, I thought, this would a great way to spend the summer,” said Sanville. “The idea is we put together three main courses (earlier in the season), and then we try to come up with a nice dessert for the summer. “

“Boeing” premiered in London’s West End in 1962 and ran for seven years; and the comedy was the longest-running farce in Parisian history, running for 19 years. But the storyline in America was markedly different. Opening in 1965 on Broadway, the show closed after only 23 performances.

So the 2008 Broadway revival, directed by Matthew Warchus (who also directed Rose executive director Jeff Daniels in “God of Carnage,” not coincidentally), surprised many by becoming an acclaimed hit.

More recently, a surprise of a far darker stripe came when local favorite actor John Seibert, originally slated to play Bernard’s unworldly boyhood friend from Wisconsin, had to step down from “Boeing” for medical reasons. Matthew David — featured in previous Rose productions like “Bleeding Red,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and “Apartment 3A” — will now play the role (Robert), with Seibert staying on as an understudy.

“If you could slide anybody into that spot, I’d want it to be him,” said Mitchell, in reference to David.

In terms of production design, Mitchell wanted to avoid letting “Boeing” slip into “Austin Powers” territory, aiming instead for “sexy but subtle.”

“I wanted two things out of (the set),” said Mitchell. “One is that it’s a playground for the actors. It’s pretty simplistic, but they can use it for all the physical things they need to do and all the action. … So I wanted something durable for the run of the show, … just from a practical standpoint. The other thing that we talked about a lot was how sexy or swanky we could make it, using curved lines and upholstery and texture.”

Of course, the notion of watching a sexist male fantasy played out on a stage may be off-putting to some. But the fact that everything eventually unravels around Bernard — this is the topsy-turvy world of farce, after all — may ultimately be what makes the scenario not only palatable for contemporary audiences, but appealing.

“At the end of the play, (these characters) have got a hell of a morning ahead of them,” Sanville said. “Hell hath no fury.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.