NEW YORK—A slight change in the punctuation of Noël Coward’s work “Present Laughter” might result in “Present: Laughter”—and in this case the present, or gift, would be the presence of a great farceur and physical comedian, Kevin Kline. His current stint is to be seen in director Moritz von Stuelpnagel’s hilarious production at the St. James Theatre on Broadway.
Few performers can appealingly merge clumsiness and grace—Kline exhibits a cross between the body language of a Charlie Chaplin and the wit, say, of a Rex Harrison.
Here, Kline plays gracefully aging matinee idol of the theater Garry Essendine, who is never lacking companionship—mainly female—nor a witty retort to whatever slight he may get or difficulty he may encounter.
Kevin Kline returns to Broadway after almost a 10-year absence.
