Review: Present Laughter

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Present Laughter. 
I'm finally in New York! *excited squee* Present Laughter was the first show we went to see, which was saw mainly to see Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother star) live. Sadly this show 'wasn't my cup of tea'. The problem I found with this show, was that there was nothing I really gained from it. At the end of the show I was left wondering what the point was and why had they made this into a show (and revived it). The main reason for this is that there really isn't much to the storyline. Present Laughter follows an arrogant actor and his mistresses, with how busy his mornings get. There really isn't much more to it. When I see a show, I hope I will go away having learnt something, or to be wowed, or something along those lines, but I didn't feel like I had any of that here. The play dragged on quite a lot, with the running time being 2 hours and a half. The show would be vastly improved if the time were to be cut down. This show seems to be "marmite" type. You love it or hate it. After seeing the show, I had a look on the Broadway forum on BroadwayWorld.com to see what people thought of it. There were many saying they hated it, however there were many saying they loved it. I think the main factor to it is that the comedy in the show only appeals to a certain type. If you're one of those who loves farces, then I would definitely recommend it. If it's not your genre, than I would say to look for a different show. Sadly I felt that a large portion of the actors didn't seem right for their roles. They were either overacted or underacted, there wasn't really an in-between for the majority of them. Having said that, there were four actors who I thought were excellent. They were: Kevin Kline as Garry Essendine, Kate Burton as Liz Essendine, Kristine Nielsen as Monica Reed and Cobie Smulders as Joanna Lyppiatt. These four were all excellent, I could not fault them in any way. I really liked both the costume design and the set design, they were outstanding! I wouldn't be surprised if they pick up Tony nominations for these aspects. Despite not all the acting being great, I thought all the British accents were outstanding and better than a lot of productions. Overall, there are worse plays out there and this isn't terrible, but it did nothing in particular to win me over.

The featured star of Present Laughter is, drum roll please... KEVIN KLINE!

This was a tough one, as all of the four actors I mentioned would be worthy, however at the end of the day I have to give it to Kevin Kline. There have been a lot of reports about his performance claiming he is unenthusiastic and boring. I couldn't disagree more. I felt he was one of the more positive aspects of the show and thought he did an outstanding job in what was quite a dull play. 

Now for my final verdict on Present Laughter. I give Present Laughter...

I give this verdict because it was not a show I was particularly impressed with, however there are many redeeming qualities, which puts it at a three star rating.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Join me next time when I will be reviewing Hello, Dolly!

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer