Incoming Cast Alert! Meet the New Broadway Company of IT'S ONLY A PLAY

Broadway's record-breaking, star-studded smash hit comedy It's Only a Play by 4-time Tony Award winner Terrence McNally, will welcome two new stars on January 7, 2015, leaving just weeks to see the full original cast in action.

Martin Short will soon take over for Nathan Lane as 'James Wicker', and two-time Tony Award winner Katie Finneran and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning "30 Rock" alum Maulik Pancholy- in his Broadway debut-will assume the roles of 'Julia Budder' and 'Frank Finger', respectively. Original stars F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing and Micah Stock will remain with the production. Recently extended through March 29th, It's Only a Play will play at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (where it has shattered house records) through January 18, 2015 before transferring to its sibling Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street) starting January 23, 2015.

We want you to get to know the new cast members before their opening night. Get acquainted with the incoming company below!

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Martin Short (James Wicker)- Short, a celebrated comedian and actor, has won fans and accolades in television, film and theater since his breakout season on Saturday Night Live almost 30 years ago. He returned to SNL to host their Christmas special on Dec 15, 2012. Short's funny and heartfelt memoir, I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend, was published this month by HarperCollins and he can currently be seen as the self-centered comedy star and game show host Lou Cannon on the new television series Mulaney, airing Sunday nights on FOX. Short won his first Emmy in 1982 while working on Canada's SCTV Comedy Network, which brought him to the attention of the producers of Saturday Night Live. He became a fan favorite for his portrayal of characters such as Ed Grimley, Jackie Rogers, Jr., lawyer Nathan Thurm and "legendary songwriter" Irving Cohen. His popularity and exposure on Saturday Night Live led Short to cross over quickly into feature films. He made his debut in Three Amigos and followed with Inner Space, Three Fugitives, Clifford, Pure Luck and Tim Burton's Mars Attacks. One of Short's most memorable roles was as Franck the wedding planner in the remake of Father of the Bride, a role he reprised a few years later in Father of the Bride Part II. Short was featured in the animated filmsMadagascar 3 and Tim Burton's Frankenweenie and will next be seen as deranged dentist Rudy Blatnoyd in Paul Thomas Anderson's'70s noir, Inherent Vice, the first-ever film adapted from a novel by Thomas Pynchon.

An accomplished stage actor, Short won a Tony and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his role in the revival of Little Me. He was also nominated for a Tony and took home an Outer Critics Circle Award for the musical version of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl. Short co-wrote and starred in Fame Becomes Me, promptingThe New York Times to describe Short as "a natural for live musicals, a limber singer and dancer who exudes a fiery energy that makes you want to reach for your sunglasses." Short returned to television in an Emmy-nominated role for the mini-series Merlin and as host of The Martin Short Show, which garnered him seven Emmy nominations. Short also wrote, produced and starred in three comedy specials, winning two Cable ACE awards and an Emmy. In 2001, he launched the critically acclaimed Primetime Glick, garnering another five Emmy nominations. Short was nominated for his nineteenth Emmy award in 2010 for his work as the lawyer Leonard Winstone on the critically acclaimed FX series Damages.

Katie Finneran (Julia Budder)- Two-time Tony Award winner Katie Finneran will appear in the upcoming drama series, "Bloodline" on Netflix. She co-starred in "The Michael J. Fox Show" last season on NBC. Finneran won a Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in the first Broadway revival of the musical, Promises, Promises. She was also awarded the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance in the Broadway revival of Noises Off. She most recently starred on Broadway as Miss Hannigan in the Tony nominated revival of Annie. Her extensive list of Broadway credits include Mauritius, Cabaret, The Iceman Cometh, Neil Simon's Proposals, The Heiress, In the Summerhouse, My Favorite Year, Two Shakespearean Actors, and On Borrowed Time. Off-Broadway, she appeared in the original cast of the play Love, Loss and What I Wore, as well as You Never Can Tell, Pig Farm, Arms and the Man, Bosoms and Neglect, A Fair Country, Edith Stein, and the Encores! production of Li'l Abner. She made her New York Philharmonic debut in the 2012 concert of Stephen Sondheim's Company, filmed for cinemas and released on DVD. Finneran made her London debut in the West End production of Fuddy Meers.

On television, Finneran is best known for roles on the series "I Hate My Teenage Daughter," "Wonderfalls," and "The Inside." Finneran's film credits include the remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, YOU'VE GOT MAIL, LIBERTY HEIGHTS, BEWITCHED, MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS, and the recent Peter Farrelly anthology, THE CATCH.

Originally from Miami, Florida, Finneran graduated from the acclaimed New World School of the Arts High School. She attended Carnegie Mellon University for one year before moving to New York City at age 19 to study acting withUta Hagen. She currently resides in New York with her husband, actor Darren Goldstein, and their sons Ty and Wes.

Maulik Pancholy (Frank Finger)- Pancholy is best known for playing Jonathan on the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award-winning NBC comedy 30 Rock, and for playing Sanjay on Showtime's award-winning dramedy Weeds. Pancholy's other television credits include Whitney, Web Therapy The Comeback, The Good Wife, Looking, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Sopranos, and Tracey Takes On. On the big screen, Pancholy has appeared in films such as 27 Dresses, Friends with Money and Hitch as well as several independent features. His theater credits include the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway productions of Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (The Culture Project) and Aunt Dan & Lemon (The New Group). He has also been seen on the New York stage in The Awake (59E59 Theaters), India Awaiting (Samuel Beckett Theater) and The Happy Sad (SPF at The Public).

Regionally, he has worked at The Goodman Theater, The Mark Taper Forum, Yale Repertory Theater, and Shakespeare Festival/Los Angeles. Maulik voices the title character of Sanjay on Nickelodeon's hit animated series Sanjay & Craig and is also the voice of Baljeet on Disney's Emmy award-winning Phineas & Ferb. Pancholy has shared the Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" four times - three times with the cast of 30 Rock (winning in 2009) and once with the cast of Weeds. He holds a B.S. in Theatre from Northwestern University and an M.F.A in Acting from the Yale School of Drama.