It's Only a Play Revival
Two hours and 35 minutes
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
8 / 10
Andnow it's landed on Broadway at last in a hilarious and star-packed evening of theater in-jokes that often plays like a nonmusical version of Forbidden Broadway...Director Jack O'Brien's production reteams Tony winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who these days pack a bigger punch at the box office than in terms of natural onstage chemistry. The two play old friends...But while Lane commands the stage with his quippy narcissism (abetted by some of McNally's strongest meta-jokes), Broderick continues his recent run of stiff, somnambulent, and overly mannered stage performances. The energy and pace of the show deflate whenever he opens his mouth...The rest of the cast, though, enlivens characters who can border on the thanklessly one-dimensional...Despite McNally's considerable revisions, there's just not enough plot here to sustain a two-and-a-half-hour show -- and what plot there is can seem thinner and more obvious than Abraham's toupee...It's Only a Play is a poison-pen mash note to New York theater, at once gleefully bitchy and affectionate. B+
It's Only a Play
4 / 10
'Tonight, everyone's a critic,' says TV actor James Wicker (Lane), in town to celebrate the Broadway debut of his playwright friend Peter (Broderick)...Wicker's line is one of the few honest remarks in Terrence McNally's otherwise cliché-filled It's Only a Play. Mostly plotless and spun from the sketchiest of stereotypes and hoariest of showbiz prejudices, this insider trifle is too long, too shallow and not nearly funny enough...There are the customary paeans to the nobility of theater artists and their sacrifices for the wicked stage, but the evening's dominant mood is bitter, out-of-touch self-regard...If you're a show person of any sort...you may get a hearty laugh at the low-hanging fruit. If not, It's Only a Play may seem alien and awkward, a hybrid of 1980s sitcom schmaltz and 2014 Gawker trolling. Either way, it's a night of shameless, attenuated playwright navel-gazing.
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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
| 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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