Kevin Kline descends a staircase, not nude, but hung over, his leg making a fancy ballet over the bannister. As the suave, debonair stage actor in his twilight, Garry Essendine, in Noel Coward’s Present Laughter in a charming production at the St. James Theater, he doesn’t remember the cute fan Daphne (Tedra Millan, truly adorable in her Broadway debut), now ensconced in the study behind a closed door, but for his staff, used to taking care of these nights, it’s nuisance as usual. His ménage includes his secretary Monica (the hilarious Kristine Nielsen), his ex-wife Liz (the formidable Kate Burton), two pals/ business associates Henry Lyppiatt (a prim Peter Francis James) and Morris Dixon (a hysterical Reg Rogers). Under Moritz von Stuelpnagel’s expert direction, characters come and go in comic rhythm. When a visiting—read crashing–would be playwright, Roland Maule (Bhavesh Patel) arrives, doors slam vigorously in the manner of a Feydeau farce. Enter Henry’s wife Joanna (Cobie Smulders) in a seductive, slinky gown, a “predator” and Garry’s equal in witty banter, looking for her latest conquest.

It would have been amazing to have seen Noel Coward as “Garry,” as he based this droll character on himself, and performed the role. Kevin Kline brings a preening but knowing victim-of-his-own-perfection as Garry, checking himself out in a hall mirror, dapper in glorious bathrobes. Most recently seen in the movie of Beauty and the Beast, as Belle’s dithering dad, Kline is a master of sly subtleties, always stealing your heart, even playing this would-be cad. Kate Burton’s Liz keeps her ex in check, amiably like a stern mom. At Gotham, where a lavish party ensued on opening night, she told me the hardest part of being in Present Laughter, was climbing the stairs to her dressing room.

Regina Weinreich

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura