PRESENT LAUGHTER Previews — Page 2

Frankly, kind of surprised that the play is being revived again

I'm guessing this was the case of a star wanting to do a certain role. Kline is notoriously reluctant to commit to stage projects, and he's been bankable in the past (his Cyrano recouped despite playing a very brief engagement); the producers probably thought there was money to be made. But this does seem like a case of a play nobody was particularly dying to see, in a theater way too large for the play to be done effectively. I haven't seen it, and now I probably won't plan to.

The best production of this play I've ever seen was at Two River Theater in New Jersey, in 2013, with Michael Cumpsty as Garry. It was done in a 300-seat theater and the jokes really landed, and the production was gorgeously appointed. The supporting cast was really quite strong too: Kaitlin Hopkins, Camille Saviola, Veanne Cox, and--in a stroke of truly brilliant offbeat casting, the cabaret/performance artist Cole Escola as Roland Maule. I wish that production could have had more of a life, but it's probably better it was left as it was.

newintown said: "I've really just realized that Garry Essendine is supposed to only be 40 years old (Coward wrote it for himself when he was 38, although he didn't play the role until he was 41); just starting to barely put one toe into middle age. Have these lines about his recent 40th birthday been changed to something more believable? At even a very well preserved 69, Kline may be too mature to ideally portray the role. (Langella was a flamboyant and viral 58 when he played the role, yet still came dangerously close to dirty old man-ness)."

Yes. Garry is about to turn 57 in this production.

I, sadly, agree with most of the other reviews on here. I rarely regret spending time and money on a show, even if I dislike it (I think things can be worth having seen or at least spending money on to support theatre, even if I didn't care for something), but I walked out of this show wishing I could get not only my discounted ticket price back, but also my time.

The direction felt very flat. I'm not one to particularly enjoy sight gags and slapstick comedy, but I found myself wishing the director had at least filled the show in this way to liven up the onstage proceedings.

I also found Kline's age to be a hindrance to the story line. He looks excellent for his age, but it was still quite difficult to believe so much of the plot.

Leaving the theatre, I couldn't help wondering why someone felt this show should be revived. A group of extremely talented actors, but I wish they were in a production that served them better.

Here are the major Garrys, the year of their productions, and their ages. It does seem to be one of those roles generally assayed by actors who have long passed the character's actual age:

Noel Coward (1942) 42
Clifton Webb (1946) 56
Noel Coward (1958*) 58
Albert Finney (1977) 41
Peter O'Toole (1978*) 46
Donald Sinden (1981) 58
George C. Scott (1982) 55
Tom Conti (1993) 52
Frank Langella (1996) 58
Peter Bowles (1996) 60
Ian McKellen (1998*) 59
David Threlfall (1998*) 45
Rik Mayall (2003) 45
Simon Callow (2006) 57
Robert Bathurst (2009) 52
Victor Garber (2010) 61
Kevin Kline (2017) 69

Updated On: 3/20/17 at 08:53 AM

Regarding discussion of the actors age playing Gary Essendine. True enough, the character was originally conceived to be the brink of turning 40 but Clifton Webb was 49 when he played it on Broadway and Coward himself played it again when he was 60 or so. My husband rightly pointed out that if you look at photos of Coward or Webb in the original production they don't look younger than Kevin Kline in the current revival. I have only seen photos of Kline in the role so maybe onstage it is a different impression.

Other thing to consider, this play as all of Cowards plays, has a history of actors older than the characters playing the leads. Private Lives etc. Also many classics are played by much older actors than originally intended Hedda Gabler is 29, same with Blanche in Streetcar but how often to actresses in their 40s and beyond play those roles. Martha and George in VW are written as 40 something yet are often played by 50 something actors.

Finally I just want to say that people simply aged quicker in the early to mid part of the 20th century. Kline looks acceptably young to me in the photos perhaps I will not feel so after seeing it.



Just my 3 cents

What's the running time now?

I saw it today and it ran 2 hrs and 40 minutes. Act one didn't end till 3:24. Very overly long and slow, very disappointing, no fire. I've always wanted to see Kline but left underwhelmed, the ladies were great though.

I saw this over the weekend- it was (I'm ashamed to say) my first exposure to Coward in any capacity. That may color my opinion slightly, but I have to say I found this show thoroughly delightful.

Kline is his usual acerbic self, which is always hilarious (at least to me). The three main women all get moments to shine- Burton with her furtive phone message in act 1 and her heart to heart with Kline at the end; Smulders with her seduction of Kline and her hilarious exit line about "clowns"; and Nielsen, who I loved in Can't Take It With You but is even better here (at one point, she lets out a scream which is worth the price of admission by itself).

The supporting cast is wonderful too- contrary to other posters, I thought Bhavesh Patel was terrific as the young playwright (especially when he tells Kline he's prostituting himself). Honorable mention to Ellen Harvey as Miss Erikson- it's great to have her back on Broadway in the same sort of scene stealing role she had in How to Succeed.

From a directorial standpoint, I thought MVS did an excellent job orchestrating the chaos (especially in the second act when the confusion crescendos).

The set and costumes are sumptuous- it was the second time this season (after Front Page) that a set got a round of applause when the curtain rose.

I'm hesitant to predict nominations in major categories since this is such a competitive year, but I would love to see this get into revival. It's a safe bet it will get a couple of craft nominations in any case.

This show was one of the most pleasant surprises of the season- I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Don't break the bank to get tickets, but if you can get a discount rate (through TDF, etc) it's well worth it.