Lakewood Theatre Company Presents Noel Coward Comedy PRESENT LAUGHTER

Present Laughter, the classic comedy by Noël Coward, opens at Lakewood Theatre Company November 6, 2015.
Set in the glamorous world of theatre, Present Laughter is a gloriously witty portrait of 1930s thespian life. Self-obsessed actor Garry Essendine (Gary Powell) faces his fear of advancing middle-age while juggling his estranged wife, a besotted ingénue, the wife of one of his business partners and a crazed young playwright!
Brimming with the renowned Coward wit and style, performances continue through December 13, 2015, playing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM; two Wednesday performances (Nov. 18, Dec. 9) at 7:30 PM; Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM (Nov. 8, 15, 22); and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM (Nov. 15, 29 and Dec. 6, 13). There is no performance on Thanksgiving. The show sponsor is Mary Ann Swinford.
At the Wednesday November 18 performance at 7:30 PM Lakewood continues a program entitled WOW: 25-35. For people 35 and under tickets are priced at $25 each. One hour prior to performance there will be a complimentary wine tasting hosted by World Class Wines. Come enjoy Wine on Wednesday (WOW) paired with discounted show tickets.
The theatre is located at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State St. in Lake Oswego. Ticket prices are $32/adults and $30/seniors. Other discounts are available for students and groups. For additional information and tickets, call the Lakewood Box Office at (503) 635-3901 or order online at www.lakewood-center.org.
Long-time Lakewood director Don Alder (The 39 Steps, Inspecting Carol, Noises Off) directs this comedy with a look back in time when being a famous actor could still be negotiated with suave sophistication and style, and where even those stalking the stars were well-bred, well-spoken and well-dressed.

Garry Essendine (Gary Powell) is a successful matinee idol who sits in comfortable style at the center of his own universe. He is the head of an affectionate and intimate accidental family, that includes his estranged, but still caring wife, Liz Essendine (Olivia Shimkus); his long suffering assistant Monica Reed (Marilyn Stacey); producer and friend Hugo Lyppiatt (Jacob Lee Smith); and manager and friend Morris Dixon (Grant Byington).
Lakewood's production also features Melissa Whitney as glamorous interloper Joanna Lyppiatt, Brenan Dwyer as the besotted young Daphne Stillington, Jake Simonds as the aspiring playwright Roland Maule, Jane Ferguson as Lady Saltburn and John Morrison as Fred.
The story: Garry Essendine, is busily making preparations for an extended overseas tour. A beautiful stage-struck ingénue and an ardent, aspiring playwright, who both insist on his attentions, complicate his plans. When his wife, his agents, and his numerous admirers arrive, Garry is hard pressed to escape. Typical of Coward's sparkling dialogue and dazzling wit, Garry finesses the situation with style.
Present Laughter premiered in the early years of the Second World War just as such privileged lives were threatened with fundamental social change. Coward wrote the role of Essendine, an aging matinee idol, as a bit of a parody of himself and played the role in the original 1942 production. The play's title comes from a song in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which urges carpe diem ("present mirth hath present laughter"), and so the word present in the title should be pronounced as the adjective and not the verb.

Present Laughter is designed by John Gerth, with lighting design by Kurt Herman. Stage manager is Michael DeMaio, sound design is by Marcus Storey, costumes by Clare Hungate-Hawk, props by Felix Kelsey, wigs by Jane Holmes and the producers are Kay Vega and Steve Knox.
Tickets: $32/Adults, $30/Senior and discounts for students and groups. Call 503-635-3901 or online at www.lakewood-center.org
About Lakewood Theatre Company

63 Years of Live Theatre: Founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1952, Lakewood Theatre Company is a professional theatre dedicated to the study and presentation of drama in all its forms; the training and development of actors; and the creation, maintenance and operation of a theatre in which to present plays and other forms of entertainment. Lakewood Theatre Company is the oldest continually operated, not-for-profit theatre company in the Portland Metropolitan area. It annually provides more than 400 theatre artists the opportunity to learn and display their craft and attracts more than 40,000 people to its shows.
- 63rd Season - Productions in the 2015-16 season are underwritten, in part, by The Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Work for Art Program The Oregon Arts Commission The National Endowment for the Arts The James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation Media Sponsor: The Oregonian, Powering OregonLive