乐在当下 Present Laughter

曾经两度获得托尼奖的凯文•克莱恩（Kevin Kline）十余年后重返百老汇舞台，挑战的正是英国传奇剧作家诺埃尔•考沃德（Noël Coward）爵士的经典喜剧《乐在当下》（Present Laughter）！

这部被视为考沃德半自传式的作品，讲述了一个陷入中年危机的自恋演员盖瑞•艾森戴（Garry Essendine）在开始一段非洲之旅前，不得不试图甩掉一个疯狂的剧作家、一些想要引诱他的女人和长期伴随他左右的秘书和伴侣。考沃德在1942年的首演版和1958年的百老汇复排版中都亲自上阵，身兼导演和主演。作为一个经典角色，此后有彼得•奥图尔爵士、伊恩•麦克莱恩爵士等戏骨演员先后出演，在纽约、伦敦及世界各地常演不衰。

此次百老汇复排由托尼奖提名导演Moritz von Stuelpnagel执导，在百老汇圣詹姆斯剧院连续演出101场，凭借《万尼亚和索尼亚和马莎和斯派克》（Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike）获得托尼奖提名的克莉丝汀•尼森（Kristine Niesen）、以及主演过《老爸老妈浪漫史》、《复仇者联盟》的寇碧•史莫德斯（Cobie Smulders）纷纷加盟，而暌违百老汇十年之久的克莱恩也不负这个伟大角色，凭此摘得个人第三座托尼奖杯，《纽约邮报》称赞克莱恩的表现“臻于完美”，《纽约时报》惊呼“它应该获得托尼奖最佳复排话剧”，Time Out纽约版也称赞本戏是 “对诺埃尔•考沃德的作品一次绝对精彩的复排。”

All three acts of the play are set in Garry Essendine's London flat.
Act I
Daphne Stillington, a young admirer of the actor Garry Essendine, has inveigled herself into the flat and has spent the night there. Garry is still asleep, and while waiting for him to wake, Daphne encounters in turn three employees of Garry, housekeeper (Miss Erikson), valet (Fred), and secretary (Monica). None of them displays any surprise at her presence. Garry finally wakes and with practised smoothness ushers Daphne out.
Liz Essendine, who left Garry years ago, nevertheless remains part of his tightly-knit 'family' along with Monica and his manager, Morris Dixon, and producer, Henry Lyppiatt. Liz tells Garry that she suspects that Morris is having an affair with Henry's glamorous wife Joanna, and is concerned that this might break up the family. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Roland Maule, an aspiring young playwright from Uckfield, whose play Garry has rashly agreed to critique. Liz leaves, and Roland rapidly becomes obsessively fascinated by Garry, who gets him off the premises as quickly as he can.
Morris and Henry arrive and discuss theatrical business with Garry. Henry leaves for a business trip abroad, and Garry privately interrogates Morris, who denies that he is having an affair with Joanna. Garry telephones Liz to reassure her.
Act II
Scene 1, midnight, three days later.
Garry, alone in the flat, answers the doorbell to find Joanna. She claims (like Daphne in Act I) to have forgotten her own doorkey and asks Garry to accommodate her in his spare room. He correctly suspects her motives, but after much skirmishing allows himself to be seduced.
Scene 2, the next morning.
Joanna emerges from the spare room wearing Garry's pyjamas just as Daphne did in Act I. She too encounters Miss Erikson, Fred, and then Monica, who is horrified at her presence in such compromising circumstances. Liz arrives and puts pressure on Joanna by threatening to tell Morris that Joanna has spent the night with Garry. Joanna retreats to the spare room when the doorbell rings, but the caller is not Morris but Roland Maule, who says he has an appointment with Garry. Monica leads him to an adjacent room to wait for Garry.
Frantic comings and goings follow, with the flustered arrivals and departures of Morris and Henry, Roland's pursuit of Garry, and the arrival of a Lady Saltburn, whose niece Garry has promised an audition. The niece turns out to be Daphne Stillington, who recites the same Shelley poem with which he bade her farewell in Act I. Joanna flounces out from the spare room, Daphne faints with horror, Roland is entranced, and Garry is apoplectic.
Act III
A week later, on the eve of Garry's departure on tour in Africa, he is once more alone in the flat. The doorbell rings and Daphne enters saying she has a ticket to sail with him to Africa. The doorbell rings again, and Daphne retreats to an adjoining room. The new caller is Roland, who announces that he too has a ticket for the voyage to Africa. Garry tries to get him to leave, but as the doorbell rings a third time Roland bolts into the spare room and locks the door. The third caller is Joanna, who has also bought a ticket for the Africa voyage and has written a letter to Henry and Morris telling them everything. Liz arrives and saves the tottering situation, announcing that she too is travelling to Africa.
Henry and Morris arrive and berate Garry for his night with Joanna. Garry fights back by revealing the details of Morris and Joanna's affair, and Henry's extramarital adventures. Joanna angrily slaps Garry's face and leaves for good. Her departure goes unnoticed because Garry, Henry and Morris have become embroiled in what for them is a much more serious row when it emerges that Henry and Morris have committed Garry to appear at what he considers a shockingly unsuitable theatre. Garry objects: "I will not play a light French comedy to an auditorium that looks like a Gothic edition of Wembley Stadium."When that row has blown itself out, it is business as usual and Henry and Morris leave in good humour.
Liz pours Garry a brandy and tells him she is not only going to Africa with him but is coming back to him for good. Garry suddenly remembers Daphne and Roland lurking in the adjoining rooms and tells Liz: "You're not coming back to me... I'm coming back to you", and they tiptoe out.