It's Only a Play Revival 2014
Run Time:
Two hours and 35 minutes
Opened: October 9, 2014Two hours and 35 minutes
Closing: June 07, 2015
It's Only a Play - 2014 Broadway History , Info & More
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (Broadway)
242 West 45th St. New York, NY
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!
It's Only a Play - 2014 - Broadway Cast
PREVIEW It's Only a Play - 2014 - Broadway
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FEATURED REVIEWS FOR It's Only a Play
'It's Only a Play': Theater Review
8 / 10
The in-jokes come thick and fast in this extensively retooled revival...it's in Lane's dynamite early scenes with gifted newcomer Micah Stock that this funny if flimsy comedy really fires on all cylinders, while Broderick underwhelms in a key role. McNally's farcical doodle starts out like gangbusters but becomes increasingly uneven. It has an annoying habit of stalling when it should accelerate, particularly in a padded second act that could use an editor...What keeps it entertaining even when the writing falters is McNally's equal-opportunity ribbing of everyone involved -- playwrights, producers, actors, directors, theater landlords, stagehands, etc. That favorite punching bag, the critic, takes a beating...But ultimately, this starts to feel less like the tight collaboration of a writer and director intent on keeping the comedy machinery humming than the product of an overcrowded writers' room full of gagmeisters trying to outdo one another...It's Only a Play begs to be done as a brisk one-act...Either way, while the vehicle is not exactly robust, McNally and O'Brien know the terrain well enough to ensure that it sparkles more often than it sags.
'It's Only a Play' review: Smart and funny from Terrence McNally
8 / 10
If the entire dream cast of Terrence McNally's backstage revenge play had less than split-millisecond timing, the merciless inside-showbiz observations about the theater and theaterfolk might wound deeper than they amuse. Instead, McNally's major update and overhaul of his 1985 work is likely to remind the gleefully unrepentant among us of Alice Roosevelt Longworth's quote that, more or less, said, 'If you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me....Lane revels in the ego and insecurity of the actor with the TV series who turned down a part written for him by his playwright-buddy, underplayed with deft earnestness and panic by Broderick, the comedy's straight man. Channing is delicious as an aging star with drug issues and a parolee's ankle bracelet. Mullally has a dumb-smart way with malaprops as the eager fledgling producer. Grint -- all spiked red hair and raccoon eyes -- is perfectly bratty as the British directing genius, while Abraham skulks creepily around as a vicious critic with an agenda...As long as they're not up there laughing at you, however, this is the rare Broadway comedy that's as smart as it is funny.
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It's Only a Play History
Other Productions of It's Only a Play
| 1986 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2014 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
It's Only a Play - 2014 Broadway Awards and Nominations
Note: Award winners will appear on a background
| 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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