In the first act, you get the audience's attention - once you have it, they will repay you in the second. Play through the laughs if you have to. It will only make the audience believe there are so many of them that they missed a few.
Noel Coward, Barry Day (2009). “The Essential Noël Coward Compendium: The Very Best of His Work, Life and Times”, p.127, A&C Black
