Under a portrait of himself as a much younger actor, aging matinee idol Garry Essendine (Victor Garber) dissuades his ex-wife Liz (Lisa Banes) from lecturing him about cutting back on romancing the women who fall at his feet in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

The night before he's to sail to Africa on a six-month theatre tour, aging matinee idol Garry Essendine (Victor Garber) is exhausted by the demands of life including ex-wife Liz (Lisa Barnes) in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

Crazed fan and playwright Roland Maule (2007 Tony Award nominee Brooks Ashmanskas) is delighted to be in Garry Essendine's house in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

Ingénue Daphne Stillington (Holley Fain) inserts herself into Garry's life at an inopportune time in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

Garry Essendine (Victor Garber) is vexed by the constant mail he receives, despite his loyal secretary Monica (Sarah Hudnut) keeping tabs on the correspondence in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

Victor Garber as Garry Essendine in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

Crazed fan and playwright Roland Maule (2007 Tony Award nominee Brooks Ashmanskas, left) explains to Garry Essendine (Victor Garber) how he can be helpful to the actor's private and professional lives in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and running through June 17 at the Huntington's B.U. Theatre. Photo: T. Charles Erickson.

Stage and screen star Victor Garber (Broadway's Sweeney Todd, TV's "Alias") plays aging matinee idol Garry Essendine in the hilarious Noël Coward comedy Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin and playing May 18-June 17, 2007 at the Boston University Theatre. Tickets huntingtontheatre.org or 617 266-0800. Photo: Joan Marcus

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