Kevin Kline-led Present Laughter sets first preview date
The previously announced Broadway return (after almost a decade's absence) of Oscar winner and two-time Tony Award winner Kevin Kline as Garry Essendine in Noël Coward's classic comedy Present Laughter has now announced its first preview date. Performances will begin on 10 March 2017 at the St. James Theatre, before an official opening on 5 April and a 16-week limited engagement through to 2 July 2017.
Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel will direct the limited engagement.
Tony-nominated director Mr. von Stuelpnagel previously released the following statement:
"In our fame and social media-obsessed age, it feels especially apropos to do a sex farce about being a celebrity. We all curate a kind of facade, a public face, but when the laughs and the parties end, I think we're left with something darker and deeply human: ourselves, private, true. Present Laughter is bitingly witty, full of glamour and vivid personalities, but beneath that, there's something striking to me about the comedian stripped down to his most personal self, in this, Coward's most personal play."Synopsis: "Present Laughter follows a self-obsessed actor (is there any other kind?) in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Freely indulging his considerable appetite for wine, women and sleeping late (not necessarily in that order), the theatre's favorite leading man suddenly finds himself caught between fawning ingénues, crazed playwrights, secret trysts and unexpected twists."
Present Laughter is produced on Broadway by Jordan Roth.
Additional casting and creative team information will be announced at a later date.
Originally premiereing on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre in October 1946 with Clifton Webb in the leading role, the comedy has since enjoyed a total of four revivals - 1958 at the Belasco Theatre (starring Noël Coward himself), 1982 at Circle in the Square (starring George C. Scott), 1996 at the Walter Kerr Theatre (starring Frank Langella) and most recently by the Roundabout Theatre Company in 2010 at the American Airlines Theatre (starring Victor Garber).
Kevin Kline won Tony Awards for his performances in 'On the Twentieth Century' (1978) and 'The Pirates of Penzance' (1981). More recently, he earned a Tony nomination for 'Henry IV' in 2004. Other Broadway credits include 'Cyrano de Bergerac,' 'Ivanov,' 'Arms and the Man,' 'Loose Ends,' 'The Three Sisters,' 'The Time of Your Life,' 'Edward II,' 'The Robber Bridegroom,' 'Scapin,' 'Measure for Measure,' and 'The Beggar's Opera.' His many screen credits include his Oscar-winning performance in "A Fish Called Wanda," along with a total of 5 Golden Globe nominations, 2 BAFTA nominations and an Emmy nomination.
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