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The Comedy Continues Inside Opening Night of PRESENT LAUGHTER!
Nov 5, 2022
After the curtain came down Wednesday night at the St. James Theatre, the laughter subsided and the company of Present Laughter celebrated a triumphant opening night at Gotham Hall. BroadwayWorld was there at the opening night after party and we're taking you behind the scenes below!
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0:00
Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
0:02
Noel Coward's classic comedy, Present Laughter, is back on Broadway. And we're here on opening night to celebrate with the company
0:10
Broadway debut for you. How does it feel? It feels amazing. I did my bow and then I ran off stage and cried
0:17
What was today like for you? Because Broadway debuts only come once. Did you sleep last night
0:23
No. How could I? How could I possibly sleep? I did a nice yoga class today
0:29
Tried to get all zenned out. You went that way. I went that way
0:33
It was really effective, I think. It was a fun show tonight. I don't know. This is so fun
0:39
Welcome back to Broadway. It is opening night. How do you feel? I feel so happy and excited and relieved
0:46
Relieved. We're at the party. We had talked during the Carlisle meet and greet
0:51
and you had fallen on black ice. And now your hands are looking at this
0:58
Isn't it? It is. Well, this one's a little thicker and has a very pretty piece of jewelry
1:04
That is from Tiffany. I think. Anyway, no. I love it because you were telling me you were on, like, sedatives, painkillers, and you were like
1:13
And I was like Ellen Burstyn and, you know, Requiem for a Dream. Rehearsal
1:18
Oh, my God. And they all tolerated me. They didn't fire me
1:23
Oh, wow. What a great role. Talk about what you love about her the most
1:27
I love Liz. My character is Gary's wife. But I'm not really his ex-wife
1:34
We no longer live together because we drive each other mad. But we actually love each other very much
1:40
And I'm kind of his, you know, I'm his, like, manager. I mean, I keep him on the straight and narrow
1:46
He is completely my little boy And you know he really cares deeply about what I think And so we have this kind of wonderful loving and I also like kind of a mother superior a little bit stern
1:59
but also exasperated, but always love him. I just love him. There's the clothes you get to wear
2:06
Wonderful. Yes, I went to see Warpaint today with my girls, Patty and Christine
2:11
and I was like, uh-huh, I wear clothes like that. I wear clothes like that. Yeah, no, we're so lucky
2:15
I mean, Susan Hilferty, our designer, is just staggeringly talented. And it's just, it's been a dream
2:22
It's been a dream from day one. It's a great world to live in, the coward world, isn't it
2:27
And it's important for, and I'm so thrilled, a lot of young people are coming to see the show
2:31
I think because of Kobe, our wonderful Kobe. And I'm so happy because young people are laughing
2:36
And they probably think, oh, this is some funky old English play
2:40
But they're laughing and enjoying it. So, what more could you ask for
2:45
What's it like living in the world of Noel Coward? Well, of course, I don't live in the world of Noel Coward, but on stage I do
2:52
It's fun. I mean, it would be lovely to experience that kind of a lifestyle
2:57
having a driver that takes you wherever you want to go. I would like that
3:01
Although maybe in New York it would still take too long. You'd be better getting out and walking
3:06
But it would be great to live in this world, like in your apartment, wouldn't it? Yes, it would
3:09
I wish I had an apartment what I imagine Lady Saltman's townhouse would be like in London
3:15
What about this role? What a fun role. Really, really fun role
3:19
This is kind of like a culmination of my life meets the comedy meets everything
3:27
And I am Swedish. And you never get to do... There's not many Swedish parts written out there
3:32
And to be able to do this part with my Swedish accent while being funny is like it the best It just so much fun It is opening night How do you feel tonight I feel incredible
3:49
This is a beautiful cast and a beautiful company. And Moritz is the director that actors dream of because he allows the comedy to be real
3:57
And that's what I love. What a great role you play. Tell me what you love about him
4:02
What a crazy role. What I love about Roland is that he's that secret little demon that I keep inside of myself that I get to bring out
4:11
Because actually, Roland, I grew up in a very small town in the Midwest
4:15
My parents wanted me to be a lawyer. And I discovered the arts at a very young age
4:20
And I went against everybody's wishes and became an actor. And Roland is actually living out that exact same plot line
4:29
except for I get to be like, everything that I was feeling inside, I get to have it come out
4:35
And it's amazing. It's amazing. What a fun character you play. Talk about him
4:39
Oh, Fred. Golly. It's super fun. So in graduate school, we have this thing where we're doing character work
4:47
and we learn how to develop character by way of global glasses
4:50
I am a blank in a world of blanks. And I've decided that Fred is an El Camino in a world of minivans
4:56
And that drives me when I'm on stage at all times. and it's super fun. It's fun to play with
4:59
An incredible cast. The women of present laughter. They are all so tremendous
5:05
I mean, Kate Burton is doing such a terrific performance in this. Christine Nielsen is so, so funny
5:10
And Kobe Smulders, who is just like doing basically her theatrical premiere
5:14
or Broadway premiere, certainly, is turning in one of the best performances
5:19
that I've been able to be a part of. And I'm just so proud of all of them
5:23
And that all the women in this play aren't archetypes, but they are rich, nuanced people
5:28
And to do a coward play where it really about the humanity of the people involved and also funny and not just fluff and nonsense has been a really interesting way to sort of
5:41
unpack the play. What about the role that you play and what you love the most about him
5:48
Well, I like that he fights with Gary, that my character fights with Gary because I'm his
5:53
director and there's moments where we've tried to put it in where we actually do have arguments about stuff
6:00
And that's always nice because it's not just, they're not fake jobs, you know, which is good
6:07
Because he knew. He knew how to write a group of people in the theater
6:13
which is, you know, of course he did. What was today like for your Broadway debuts only come once
6:17
I mean, what was today like for you leading up with Tonight? Well, I have two children
6:21
so the first half is like extremely boring and very mundane. So I hung out with them
6:27
and then I biked up because it was so nice. I got to bike to the theater
6:32
And then it was a lot of running around, giving out gifts and being loved
6:37
and all of us kind of giggling and celebrating with each other
6:42
Really, we've just been anticipating this being over because it feels like, oh, now we can continue on with the show
6:50
and there isn't this sort of pressure or waiting or buildup or anything
6:54
So now we can just kind of do the show every night and enjoy that
6:59
You love living in the world of a theater, right? Eight shows a week and just like the rituals of walking through the stage door and all of that, right
7:06
It's the best. And every night is a different night. Every night is a different show. And that is so exciting to me
7:14
Now I'm getting into that where I wanted every night to be perfect and exactly right
7:18
And now it's like you don't know. You don't know how you're going to feel. And you don't know what an audience you're going to get
7:22
So that's an exciting thing to play out every night
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