PRESENT LAUGHTER Previews

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/9/17 at 12:01pm

Previews for the fifth Broadway revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter begin tomorrow night (Friday, March 10, 2017) at the St. James Theatre, starring Kevin Kline, Cobie Smulders, Kate Burton, and Kristine Nielsen! Opening night is set for April 5 for a limited run through July 2.

Who's going?!

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 11:26am

Bumping for previews, which begin tonight!

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 7:03pm

Is anyone going tonight?

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 8:00pm

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "Is anyone going tonight?

I'm there now (tdf tickets). I'm not sure I'll have much to say, never having seen it during its prior incarnations, but I'll try to write something later. 

[hellobroadway]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 11:51pm

Any reviews from tonight?

[BroadwayLuv2]

Posted: 3/10/17 at 11:53pm

Anyone win the lottery?  Where were the seats?  

Where were the TDF seats? 

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 3/11/17 at 1:40am

BroadwayLuv2 said: "Anyone win the lottery?  Where were the seats?  

Where were the TDF seats? "

My TDF seats were side Mezz, about halfway up.

No deep thoughts on the show. I enjoyed it: I found the first act slow, but it gathered speed as it went along. Performances were all solid, set was fine (during slow portions of the play, i kept thinking that I wish I had an apartment like that). I liked it somewhat more than the other early/mid 20th century comedy I saw this season (the Front Page). I'm unlikely to see it a second time, but I'm glad I saw it.

 

Oh, and most of the cast stage doored, except for Kevin Klein.

Updated On: 3/11/17 at 01:40 AM

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 3/11/17 at 7:18am

I was there as well and echo NewYorker's thoughts. First act was extremely slow with very few laughs but when Colbie Smulders walked on stage she lit the audience on fire. She was by far the stand out performance among a stage full of wonderful veterans. I hope she gets a Tony nomination and maybe even the win. The second act got the crowd laughing and I enjoyed the show very much in the end. It wasn't quite the singular experience I expected from Kevin Kline in this role, but nevertheless it was a good night of theatre. 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 3/11/17 at 10:24am

I agree, but didn't fine Colbie to be that stand out. I kept thinking someone like Nina Arianda would have a feast with that part while Colbie was just getting the on the page laughs. The audience did respond the best to her so I must be the odd man out.

Kristine Nielson is, as always, a comic genius and makes the most out of her part.

I think it was a solid first preview. Comedies like this only get better with audiences and I have a feeling everyone will grow and find new/bigger/funnier bits, especially Kline. I was expecting full blown Soap Dish/Wanda/Pirate King from him but he seemed very restrained and he didn't even seem to get to a "Fraiser" level of mania.

[dave1606]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 12:40am

I saw this tonight and have to say I was very unimpressed. 

I was totally disappointed with Kevin Kline. This was my first time seeing him on stage and he came off like a wet noodle to me. I kept casting other people in the roll the whole evening. (I was thinking how David Hyde Pierce or Kelsey Grammar would have fun in the role!). I can't tell if he was miscast or just uninterested in the part, but to me he seemed bored and underplayed the role the whole time. In fact he under-projected too, and audience members were having a hard time hearing him. The sound was off for most of the show, it seemed that there were a few static mics on the stage, that never quite picked up the actors the way you wanted them too.

My TDF seats were in the Mezz in row K (Two rows back from the Front Mezz). A decent view. 

For me the biggest standout was Kristine Neilsen. She continues to impress me even in smaller roles. She made the smallest bits such brilliant physical humor and had me howling on what normally might be a throway line.  Kate Burton was nice as well. I don't quite get the love for Colbie, she didn't standout for me at all. Some of the rest of the cast was really poor with the Bhavesh Patel as the playwright being downright awful. 

I think this show is over-revived. I wasn't super impressed with the roundabout revival from 2010, but I did love the set (For the record this revival's set doesn't nearly live up to that one). I just never quite think the show is as good as I want it to be. Just when it gets all revved up, the show ends in a whimper.  I hope we wait a little longer before the next revival. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 12:47am

Why was this production even put together? It's in a huge house. Did it come from somewhere else?

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 12:56am

Kline did a benefit reading of the play for The Acting Company in early 2016. He also co-directed that evening, which isn't happening now, and most of the cast is new but I'm sure that's where the genesis came from. 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 2:13am

Kristine Neilsen is worth the ticket, she is just a genius, and manages to get a laugh off every line and gesture. 

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 11:41pm

I was there tonight and really the only things to recommend about the production are Nielsen and Burton.

I know Kline makes his entrance still sleepy after being woken earlier than he'd like, but the stupor should wear off as the play goes on. There's so little vim and vigor to his performance and he's supposed to be this overacting ham who's always "on."  There are flickers of what he could be, but right now he felt muted. 

While Nielsen and Burton outshine their Roundabout counterparts, the rest of the supporting cast fall short. The thing I remember most from the last revival was Brooks jumping around all over the furniture; at the time I cringed at his manic mugging, but after seeing Bhavesh Patel's performance I take back all the things I said about Brooks at the time. The actress playing Daphne was no great shakes either. 

Act one goes on far too long for the little amount of payoff it creates in the following scenes. Maybe the play isn't aging all that well or perhaps people just don't know how to direct Coward anymore. It's probably a combination of the two. 

Despite all this negativity I didn't hate it. I laughed almost everytime Nielsen opened her mouth, but I ultimately won't be recommending this to many people. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/14/17 at 11:55pm

Just seems very "what's the point?" I have a friend working on it, so I'll see it, but can't say I'm itching to see it, and not sure this is the director for it. 

[BroadwayBoy214]

Posted: 3/15/17 at 2:25pm

What was the running time?

Chris

[newintown]

Posted: 3/15/17 at 3:37pm

Very disappointing to hear all this, but it sounds like a lot of bad choices are being made, with the worst by far being a boneheaded decision to put a Coward comedy in the cavernous St. James.

Perhaps Kline gave up when he realized that he would have to be miked to be heard at all, sure death for high comedy. And I'm not entirely certain that von Stuelpnagel was an inspired choice to direct this kind of piece.

I enjoyed the 1996 Langella revival enormously, and also saw the totally inept 1993 London production with Tom Conti (in which Jenny Seagrove mysteriously decided to play Joanna with a thick Russian accent, killing Coward's rhythms as well as every laugh). I was looking forward to this, but had missed that it was hiding out in the depths of the St. James, instead of playing a house with fewer than 1,000 seats, as it ought.

[wonkit]

Posted: 3/15/17 at 7:47pm

Love Kevin Kline but I just can't stay awake for Noel Coward so I am not planning to see this. I wish he had chosen something more interesting to return in.

[AuroratheGeek]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 11:57am

I was so excited to get tickets for this show on the first night because of the seemingly talented cast list,  and I thought it was a classic I hadn't encountered before.  Oh how disappointed I was! I even regretted buying my discounted tickets.

I couldn't believe how dull and boring the first act was. My friend who attended with me (who shall remain nameless) fell asleep multiple times and eventually left at intermission. Of course, the sound might've also been an issue. At many times it was hard to understand what everyone was saying. They really needed to turn up the volume. Hopefully that has been fixed in later performances.

The cast was good, but really played it too subtle for me. The text isn't funny enough for a subtle take on things to be funny. Kevin Kline was a huge disappointment. I really expected a masterful performance, but what I saw was rather forgettable.

Kristin Neilsen is a god, but sadly, I felt like her talents were a little wasted in this play. I enjoyed Cobie Smulders' performance, but I was so disappointed in where that character went. I was really hoping for some sly woman with a grand plan, and instead got exactly what it said on the tin.

Overall, I felt like the laughs per minute ratio was far too low for something that didn't have any dramatic heft behind it.

Though, hopefully this has been fixed in later performances! It was the first night after all.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 1:05pm

I half chuckled maybe twice. This was one of the longest, most boring nights at the theatre in a long time.

A complete and total dud.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 10:47am

Either I'm going crazy or they've SERIOUSLY tightened everything since most of you saw the show.  I saw the show with 3 friends, and we were all in stitches for most of the evening.  Yes, there are stretches of dialogue that aren't as punchy, but truthfully I thought this was an excellent production of what is ultimately not my favorite Coward play.

First of all, Kristine Nielsen and Kate Burton were on fire.  They both chewed every piece of scenery and it was an absolute delight.  Kristine in particular has one moment which had us trying to suppress the church giggles for a good 3 minutes after.  Ellen Harvey was a hoot as Miss Erikson, Tedra Millan was a delightful Daphne, Matt Bittner was adorable as Fred, and Reg Rogers was solid in his typical schtick as Morris.  The three weak performers for me were Cobie Smulders (her accent was all over the place, but she LOOKED stunning... that dress!), Bhavesh Patel as Roland (wayyyyy too much), and Peter Francis James as Henry (not really sure what he was doing).

As for Kevin Kline, I don't get the criticism.  I thought he was exactly what the role calls for.  I found him to be incredibly amusing.  I think his over the top moments were spot on without descending too much into caricature.  Anyway, all in all, I had a great time.

[stage-n-screen]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 12:56pm

Was at last night's preview and agree with most of the thoughts expressed by others.  The biggest problem, I regret to say because his performance in "A Fish Called Wanda" was so memorable and perfectly outsized, was Kevin Kline.  His performance is oddly restrained - I wouldn't quite call it a "wet noodle" but he never takes command.  It's not an uninspired or lazy performance by any stretch, but I kept feeling like there was a "big" performance waiting to get out.  Rather than bombast and self-admiring or even calculated theatrics, he seems to be going more for powerless frustration and aggravation, both with age creeping up on him and to the manipulators and sycophants around him - witty but too tempered and measured.  As a result he feels like he's a bystander and commentator rather than a comic force, and that tone pervades the entire production, which is particularly noticeable in act 1 when the farcical elements are being set up. It's witty, with some laughs, but wandering and kind of a long slog.  Act 2 is far more successful as the farce takes over. The supporting cast is strong, with Cobie Smulders and Kristine Nielsen as standouts.  It received quite a warm response from the audience, although I can't really put a finger on this revival's raison d'etre.  It says a lot when one of the biggest laughs comes from an almost-pratfall from Kristine Nielsen that would barely register during a performance of "Noises Off."  

[newintown]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 1:13pm

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).

Updated On: 3/17/17 at 01:13 PM

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 1:24pm

Frankly, kind of surprised that the play is being revived again; the last revival at Roundabout was only seven years ago, and was no great shakes (nor was the Langella revival back in 1996). As I am now living out of NYC, and so many shows are coming in the next few weeks, my days of seeing everything are over, and PRESENT LAUGHTER is not on my list.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 1:33pm

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.