Present Laughter

Pat and I went to see Present Laughter with Victor Garber at the Huntington on Friday. I'm not familiar with Garber from Alias, but I know people really love him from the show and I can definitely say his stage acting lived up to his reputation. He was fantastic (and he can apparently sing...who knew?). A lot of the humor relied on expression, which is especially challenging on stage when a camera can't zoom in on your face and he totally sold it (even to me, and I was in the balcony).

Present Laughter is a 1930's Noel Coward comedy that takes place in London. The story itself is amusing, but the real pleasure is in the characters. Victor Garber played the lead, Garry Essendine, a famous London stage actor (for that alone, I enjoyed the play because I know have the opportunity to use the phrase "meta." As in, "it's a play about actors...how meta.")

If you are into theatre and have the time in the next couple of weeks, definitely check it out. The writing and acting are superb (The only actor I didn't enjoy was the one playing Roland Maule. The characters all are caricatures to a point, but he was a little over the top for me.). I literally laughed out loud multiple times. Also, if you are a total nerd like me, you'll enjoy that the costumes are pretty damn good, too. And the set...the set is totally awesome.