Present Laughter

Present Laughter on Broadway Background

Noël Coward wrote this role for himself, but the producer of Present Laughter, Jujamcyn Theatre President Jordan Roth, said that if he didn’t know that, he’d think the part was written for Kevin Kline. Indeed, Kevin Kline plays this lead part in the present revival of Present Laughter, which marks its sixth Broadway production.

The play was written in 1939 and first produced in 1942, with Coward in the lead role. Since then, other great actors have played the part including Ian McKellen, Simon Callow, Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney, Victor Garber and Frank Langella. This revival plays at the St. James Theatre, previously home to Something Rotten!, and which will be the future home of the musical revival of Frozen after a major renovation to the theatre. Kevin Kline is also one of the greatest actors working today. His skills in swashbuckling physical comedy are put to good use in Present Laughter, just as they were in the 1981 production of Pirates of Penzance and the 1978 production of On the Twentieth Century, both of which earned him Tony Awards. He also won an Academy Award for Best Actor for A Fish Called Wanda. With Kline as Essendine, this revival of Present Laughter is an unmissable treat.

What's Present Laughter Like?

This sexual farce is a critique of celebrity, which is especially a propos for this day and age. Interestingly, many of the relationships on which the female characters in the play’s love affairs, were based on real-life homosexual affairs, but needed to be made heterosexual for the stage. It is also based on Coward’s firsthand experiences of touring with the British army as an actor and singer during the war, when he traveled to not only Africa, but Europe, Asia and America. Moritz von Stuelpnagel's direction of the comedy Hand to God, brought the show to greatness, traveling from Off-Off-Broadway to earning the Tony Award nomination for Best New Play.

Is Present Laughter Good for Kids?

The show is most appropriate for children over the age of 10. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted in the theatre.