Kevin Kline Returns to Broadway in Present Laughter

Kevin Kline makes his official return to Broadway tonight in Noël Coward’s Present Laughter. The production at the St. James Theatre plays its opening night on April 5. The limited engagement will run through July 2.

Coward’s comedy, which first premiered on Broadway in 1946, follows Garry Essendine (Kline), a self-indulgent actor who receives a visit from a young admirer, initiating a parade of intruders and interruptions, including his ex-wife, his manager and an aspiring playwright. Moritz von Stuelpnagel directs.

The principal cast also includes Cobie Smulders as Joanna Lyppiatt, Kate Burton as Liz Essendine, Kristine Nielsen as Monica Reed, Bhavesh Patel as Roland Maule, Tedra Millan as Daphne Stillington and Reg Rogers as Morris Dixon.

Also featured are Peter Francis James as Henry Lyppiatt, Matt Bittner as Fred, Ellen Harvey as Miss Erikson and Sandra Shipley as Lady Saltburn, with an ensemble including Kelley Curran, Rachel Pickup, James Riordan and David L. Townsend.