| CAST | PRODUCTION CREW |
| SYNOPSIS | BOOKS & RECORDINGS |

CAST
George C. Scott (Garry Essendine)
Kate Burton (Daphne Stillington)
Edward Conery (Morris Dixon)
Georgine Hall (Lady Saltburn)
Bette Henritze (Miss Erikson)
Elizabeth Hubbard (Liz Essendine)
Dana Ivey (Monica Reed)
Christine Lahti (Joanna Lyppiatt)
Nathan Lane (Roland Maule)
Jim Piddock (Fred)
Richard Woods (Henry Lyppiatt)

PRODUCTION CREW
Noel Coward (Author)
George C. Scott (Director)
Theodore Mann (Artistic Director)
Paul Libin (Managing Director)
Marjorie Bradley Kellogg (Scenery)
Ann Roth (Costumes)

SYNOPSIS
"Being cast in the revival of Noel Coward's Present Laughter directed by and starring the one and only George C. Scott was probably the biggest break of my career."
-- Nathan Lane

The most autobiographical of Noel Coward's plays, Present Laughter takes its title from Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night:

What is love?
Tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What's to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty,
Youth's a stuff will not endure.

In this Jazz Age era play, the main character, Garry Essendine, takes Shakespeare's admonition all too seriously, continually indulging his considerable appetite for wine, women and sleeping late. Garry is vain, ill-tempered and inconsiderate. He's also warm, witty and talented.

Nathan played Roland "a fawning young playwright" who idolized Essendine.

Meeting and working with George C. Scott was quite a treat for Nathan, as he wrote in Broadway: Day & Night.

This was Nathan's Broadway debut, but he was noticed by critics. Allan Wallach of New York Newsday [July 16, 1982] wrote, "As played hilariously by Nathan Lane, he progresses from comic shyness to a worshipful possessiveness so total he sticks to Garry [Scott] like makeup."

Present Laughter was previously presented on Broadway in 1946, with Noel Coward in the close-to-the-heart role of Essendine, co-starring with Eva Gabor. Other revivals on Broadway have been the 1985 production and, most recently, the 1996 production starring Frank Langella (nominated for Tony).

BOOKS & RECORDINGS

At least two books of Present Laughter were printed in the 40's. Used copies are available at The Advanced Book Exchange.

An audio cassette produced by LA Theatre Works is available at Amazon Books.

An audio book (read by Paul Scofield) of Present Laughter, along with Coward's Private Lives was made in 1989 (ISBN#0886901227). It is currently out of print.