{"id":108434,"date":"2025-01-25T13:12:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T21:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=108434"},"modified":"2025-01-25T13:59:33","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T21:59:33","slug":"present-laughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/present-laughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Present Laughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sparkling, Door-Slamming, Over-the-Top <\/strong><\/span>Hilarity<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Present Laughter<\/em> at Novato Theater Company is like a perfectly shaken martini\u2014crisp, a little extravagant, and guaranteed to make you smile.<\/strong><\/span> Directed by Carl Jordan, this No\u00ebl Coward classic starts out fairly tame, with Garry Essendine (David Abrams) in a romantic entanglement with the starry-eyed Daphne Stillington (Tina Traboulsi). But don\u2019t let the slow burn fool you. Before long, people are popping out of doors like toast from a five-slot toaster, each bringing more absurdity and hilarity than the last. You don\u2019t just watch the comedy build\u2014you feel it, like waiting for the next slam or quirky entrance, and boy, do they deliver.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Abrams is pitch-perfect as Garry, a vain matinee idol whose life is more dramatic than anything onstage. He pouts, he preens, he charms\u2014and he somehow manages to keep his composure as the chaos around him spirals. Tina Traboulsi plays Daphne with bubbly, wide-eyed mischief, and Thomas Peterson\u2019s Roland Maule is a delightfully oddball wildcard, the kind of guy who makes you laugh just by standing there looking like he\u2019s thinking too hard. Heather Shepardson\u2019s Monica Reed slices through the madness with razor-sharp wit, Kevin Allen\u2019s Morris Dixon rolls his eyes in all the right places, and Shirley Nilsen Hall brings just the right dose of deadpan as Miss Erikson. Honestly, though, the whole cast shines. There\u2019s not a weak link in the bunch\u2014they\u2019re like a comedic relay team, and nobody drops the baton.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>Photo Credit:\u00a0Jere Torkelsen<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Carl Jordan keeps the action moving at a brisk clip, orchestrating Coward\u2019s rapid-fire dialogue and physical comedy with precision. The set\u2014five doors that see more traffic than a 24-hour diner\u2014is practically a character in itself, and the costumes add a dash of glamour to the chaos. As the action crescendos, the audience can\u2019t help but revel in the brilliance of every slam, twist, and turn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Present Laughter<\/em> isn\u2019t just a comedy\u2014it\u2019s a full-blown riot of laughter, charm, and theatrical magic.<\/span><\/strong> Grab a seat, hold on tight, and prepare for a night you\u2019ll be grinning about long after the doors finally stop slamming.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tickets<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Present Laughter<\/span><\/em> runs through February 16, at Novato Theater Company.<\/span>
\nTickets range from $30 to $40, depending on seating and performance date.<\/span>
\nPerformances include evening and matinee options, with accessible seating available.<\/span><\/p>\n

For full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit <\/span>Novato Theater Company<\/a> <\/span><\/strong>or call (415) 883-4498<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0 Sparkling, Door-Slamming, Over-the-Top Hilarity Present Laughter at Novato Theater Company is like a perfectly shaken martini\u2014crisp, a little extravagant, and guaranteed to make you smile. Directed by Carl Jordan,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"yes","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[838],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-108434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-joseph-cillo"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"