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!
Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick made magic and a megahit together in 'The Producers'...Now the Great White Way's dynamic duo is back on stage...The reunion is wildly hit and miss -- Lane is the hit, while Broderick is the, well, you know....Wicker is custom-tailored for what Lane does best. Catty one-liners? Check. Sly slow burns? Check. High-spirited howls? Check. Lane makes the familiar fresh and delivers gusts of laughing gas. Meanwhile, Broderick drains the air and momentum as playwright Peter Austin, Wicker's BFF...What's lacking are surprises. Characters get one dimension apiece...Completing the cast is Micah Stock, a Broadway rookie who more than holds his own as a simpleton coat check with the gift of ingratiation. One reason he makes such an impression is that he shows up on Broadway without any baggage -- so the audience gets the joy of discovering a new talent making his major stage debut. Besides good old dependable Nathan Lane, this diversion has good timing going for it. People are desperate for laughs and comedies on Broadway are bloody rare. If only McNally's 'Play' was more well-done.
Nathan Lane holds the dubious distinction of being one of Broadway's biggest stars while also being one of the stage's most underappreciated actors. Though four Tony Award nominations and two wins is rather nice, it's astonishing to think that someone so highly regarded as one of the few remaining stage stars nationally known primarily for acting in the theatre has gone sixteen times without a nomination. Whether or not number nineteen garners him the honor remains to be seen, but in the first ten minutes or so of Terrance McNally's wickedly funny offstage farce, It's Only A Play, Lane demonstrates why he is undoubtedly one of the greatest stage actors of his generation.
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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