Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane lead an all-star cast featuring F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing, Megan Mullally and Micah Stock in the Broadway comedy about the comedy of Broadway: It's Only a Play. Written by four-time Tony winner Terrence McNally and directed by three-time Tony winner Jack O'Brien, this is a celebration of theatre at its best- and theatre people behaving their not-so-best.
It's opening night of Peter Austin's (Matthew Broderick) new play as he anxiously awaits to see if his show is a hit. With his career on the line, he shares his big First Night with his best friend, a television star (Nathan Lane), his fledgling producer (Megan Mullally), his erratic leading lady (Stockard Channing), his wunderkind director, an infamous drama critic (F. Murray Abraham) and a fresh-off-the-bus coat check attendant (Micah Stock in his Broadway debut).
It's alternately raucous, ridiculous and tender- reminding audiences why there's no business like show business. Thank God!
Big names drop like hailstones in Terrence McNally's 'It's Only a Play,' the kind that look like diamonds from a distance and then melt away before you know it...There is also another, less famous name that is bandied about. That's Ben Brantley, the theater critic for The New York Times whose review of the play in 'It's Only a Play' is being anxiously awaited...he clearly bears little resemblance to the critic who has written the review you are reading now. O.K., so maybe he does. But I still find it hard to take the references too personally. For one thing, the self-important, vitriolic Mr. Brantley is treated no more harshly than the self-important, vitriolic characters onstage...Such improper proper-noun-slinging probably goes down better now than it did three decades ago...[Lane's] portrayal here of James Wicker...is sterling. He and Ms. Channing -- who is hilarious as a washed-up, substance-and-plastic-surgery-abusing Hollywood star -- give the show a sheen and a heart it might otherwise lack...Mr. McNally's play is a bit more old-fashioned, perhaps, but then so is the theater, God bless it.
In essence, this is a commercially attractive package deal for theatergoers eager to relive their memories of Lane and Broderick in 'The Producers' and indulge in what looks like a dizzying laugh fest commanded by stage pros...While act one offers plenty of silly, lightweight fun, the play essentially collapses in the self-indulgent, overly sentimental act two. At an overall length of close to three hours, one can't help but wonder why it wasn't seriously cut. Director Jack O'Brien could have done a better job coordinating the broad performances offered by the cast into a cohesive, farcical whole. Lane is relaxed and altogether terrific, and Mullally, Channing and Abraham have their moments. Less successful are Grint, who looks amateurish in his heavy makeup, and Broderick, who throws everyone else off with a labored performance.
1986 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2014 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Rupert Grint |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | F. Murray Abraham |
2015 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Terrence McNally |
2015 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Award | Micah Stock |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Micah Stock |
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