IT'S ONLY A PLAY, Starring Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick, Nearing $8 Million Broadway Opening

The upcoming revival of Tony winner Terrence McNally's IT'S ONLY A PLAY has now drawn nearly $8 million before its opening on Broadway this fall, according to Deadline. In July, the production had already sold $5.5 million worth of tickets in advance.

No question the high numbers are at least partially due to legendary duo Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick and their all-star castmates on the marquee.

The first preview of IT'S ONLY A PLAY is set for Thursday, August 28, 2014. The production will play a limited 18-week engagement at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street) with an opening night set for Thursday, October 9, 2014.

Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick, Emmy and Tony Award winner Stockard Channing, international film sensation Rupert Grint, Tony Award winner Nathan Lane, Emmy Award winner Megan Mullally, and newcomer Micah Stock star in IT'S ONLY A PLAY. Three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien directs.

In IT'S ONLY A PLAY, it's opening night of Peter Austin's (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 (Lane), his fledgling producer (Mullally), his erratic leading lady (Channing), his wunderkind director (Grint), an infamous drama critic (Abraham), and a fresh-off-the-bus coat check attendant (Stock) on his first night in Manhattan. It's alternately raucous, ridiculous and tender -- and proves that sometimes the biggest laughs happen offstage.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride