Review: Love, Laughter, and Latchkeys from PRESENT LAUGHTER at Cygnet Theatre

Love, laughter, and latchkeys are the main tenants to Cygnet Theatre's PRESENT LAUGHTER, playing through April 29th which brings a strong cast to bring the laugh in this fizzy, funny farce.

Garry Essendine (Sean Murray) is an again matinee idol, who occasionally dreams of doing more serious work, but mostly finds himself working his charm on young debutants who have "lost their latchkey" and need a place to stay the night. He is charming, emotional, and incredibly susceptible to flattery. He has surrounded himself with a small but dedicated group who include his estranged wife who he hasn't gotten around to divorcing yet, Liz (Shana Wride), his sensible secretary Monica (Melissa Fernandes), his loyal valet Fred (Drew Bradford), his housekeeper Miss Erikson (Annie Hinton), and his two producers Morris (Steven Lone), and Henry (David Humphrey).

The show opens with Daphne (Lindsey Young) a young debutante emerging tentatively from the spare room wearing Garry's pajamas, and waiting for him to wake up and come down from his room, while Garry's unperturbed servants bustle around her delivering plenty of exposition along with breakfast trays of coffee. Garry is no stranger to accommodating adoring fans who happen to lose their latchkey and their hearts to him, but he never seems to return the sentiment.

Garry's first love, aside from dressing gowns, is truly his overdramatic self, and it truly takes a village of more evenly-keeled people to keep his life balanced and running despite Garry's actions.

All Garry wants is some peace and quiet and maybe some coffee, but soon he finds his apartment overrun as new playwright Roland (Trevor Cruse) comes by and quickly reveals himself to be an obsessive fan of Garry's. Then his business partner's sexy and scheming wife Joanna (Amanda Sitton) arrives, and even more, complications ensue.

Murray as Garry is delightful and overdramatic with this character that is both pompous and goofy, a lover of being loved, and someone who is charming enough for others to want to stay and take care of him. His pairings with Shana Wride as his wife Liz are some truly standout moments.

The rest of the cast is also strong with Bradford as the efficient valet, Fernandes as the no-nonsense secretary, and Hinton as the housekeeper who is delightful and also seems to drive most of the cast into barely contained giggles as they try not to break.

Directed by Rosina Reynolds, the show has a delightfully dramatic flair, and the strong cast has wonderful chemistry together. The show luxuriates in the bon mots and Garry's self-indulgence, and builds to a steady state of events and ridiculousness that the audience laughs just knowing Garry is going to pass a mirror, or who is lingering just on the other side of the door.

The costumes by Elisa Benzoni are gorgeous, and if Joanna's entrance doesn't make you want to immediately go out and buy a cape you are a stronger person than I am. The set by Toy Cucuzella, with lighting by Colby Freel, and sound design by TJ Fucella all come together to create a beautiful period apartment for all these hijinks to play on.

Or all of the strong performances, the play itself though feels creaky, with a lot of business to take care of before it truly gets to the laughter and the conflict. A lot will depend on your tolerance for farce, but for the audience when I saw it the show only presented laughter.

How to Get Tickets

PRESENT LAUGHTER is playing at the Cygnet Theatre through April 29th. For ticket and showtime information go to www.cygnettheatre.com

Photo Credit: Photos by Karli Cadel Photography

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