It's Only A Play- Will It Sell Out?

[Frankly Rich]

Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane together again. Add Stockard Channing. Add F. Murray Abraham. Add Megan Mullally. Make it a limited engagement of just 17 weeks. So, what's it about?

 

"In It's Only a Play, according to producers, "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, an infamous drama critic, and a wide-eyed coat check attendant on his first night in Manhattan. It’s alternately raucous, ridiculous and tender — reminding audiences why there’s no business like show business. Thank God!"

 

Until June 11th, tickets are available only to American Express cardholders. So, unless you are buying a Premium Ticket, and many seats are so marked, it might be advisable to buy now. The producers would like it, and it may be your only chance to get a good seat. I got mine, so I'm banking on the show being a big hit, but I've been wrong many times before.

[+ nycman]

Wait...it's a Broadway show....a show starring Mathew Broderick and Nathan Lane....and it's a show about producing a show?

 

This seems strangely familiar....and incredibly stale.

[foxy]

Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane seem to have perfected the art of playing themselves over and over again.

[Frankly Rich]

They sure have, foxy. This one is written by Terrence McNally, a popular gay playwright. It started off-off Broadway in 1982, and moved to off-Broadway as a Manhattan Theater Club show in 1986. The reviews weren't bad for either production. I found The Producers tiresome, but I have a lot of hope for this one. Stockard Channing doesn't sign up for shows just for the hell of it.

[foxy]

Stockard Channing is terrific and hope that will raise the bar for the other performers. BTW I hated The Producers and not because of the Nazi stuff.

[+ WilliamM]

I'll be in New York Labor Day weekend for the U.S. Open. A few days ago there were plenty of relatively decent seats left for the first week of previews of "It's Only A Play." Not today. I should have bought a ticket when I had a chance. The ad for the play in today's print New York Times reads "Best Availability Next Week." Telecharge includes the week after Labor Day as well for availability. In other words, it's worth a try!

[Frankly Rich]

I paid $137 for a seat in the second row. I also paid full price for This Is Our Youth, but it is now available at a discount. So you win some, and you lose some.

[skynyc]

I paid full price for this, Elephant Man and The River. I just don't expect discounts for these. There's a discount code for Delicate Balance, and Curious Incident of the Dog... And surprisingly, This is Our Youth and You Can't Take it With You have been on tdf for preview performances. I think this is going to be a good fall.

[edjames]

Sure to be a success with a "marquee" cast. Nathan has many, many fans and his Broadway ventures have been very successful. Add to that his association with Matthew from The Producers and that only adds to fans desire to see them again. Plus, this time around Megan Mullaly from Will & Grace and Stockard Channing from The Good Wife add to the tourist sales. Playwright, Terrance McNally adds some value as his recent Broadway play Mothers and Sons did garner a Tony nom.

Now, don't be disillusioned by the Amex offer. No center orch prime seats are being offered. If you go online you'll find side or rear orch or rear mezz seats. These seats are offered at $139+ (depending on the time/date) plus fees. Other prime center orch or mezzo seats are going in the range of $199+. Sure to be a hit and I don't expect it to be offering any TDF seas although some last row or side seats may show up with a discount at TKTS.

My seat with Amex discount, and teleCharge fees (ha-ha) was $148, 10th row aisle.

 

I got orch seats from TDF for In Our Youth and You Can't Take it With You for $43@. Good deal!!!

 

ED

[Frankly Rich]

Tody's NY Daily News says that "It's Only A Play" has sol $8illion in tickets so far. Further:

 

Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Click here to order tickets.

 

Combustible and bankable, Lane and Broderick on a Broadway marquee together provokes that practically Pavlovian response.

 

Now the pair is in Terrence McNally’s “It’s Only a Play” — and advance sales of the inside-theater comedy beginning previews on Thursday are “$8 mil and climbing,” says a gleeful spokesman.

 

But “The Producers,” it’s not. Lane and Broderick all but owned that 2001 megahit musical. And this is no new “Odd Couple,” the 2005 revival that was seemingly just as made for them as it was for the original mismatched roommates, Walter Matthau and Art Carney.

 

But in “It’s Only a Play,” Lane and Broderick are merely pieces of a comedic puzzle that includes Stockard Channing, Megan Mullally and F. Murray Abraham. In this cast, everyone is a star. Which means that Lane and Broderick are not.

 

Better to know that going in. And, fair enough, the ads for the show make that clear, with the cast in alphabetical order. So does McNally.

 

“Nathan and Matthew have a lot to do together and their relationship is essential to the story — but it’s very much an ensemble play,” says McNally, who has overhauled his 1980s-era script to bring the tale up to the digital age

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/lane-broderick-return-bway-article-1.1911038#ixzz3B7VzveIR

[Frankly Rich]

Today's NY Daily News discuses the play and the rapidly selling tickets: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/theater-arts/lane-broderick-return-bway-article-1.1911038

[geoffk]

i bought my tickets for January 2.

[edjames]

NYTimes reports this morning that the play grossed $793,046 last week for its first five preview performances, which were all sold out

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/laughs-draw-a-crowd-to-mcnallys-its-only-a-play/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=theater&_r=0

[edjames]

Saw this production last night and I'm overjoyed to report that it is one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen on Bway!!!

I won't go into details but Nathan Lane SHINES in this role. This is Nathan at his very best. Terrance McNally has given him enough comedic zingers that they come fast and furious. No one is spared the wrath of McNally here. Celebrities names pop out regularly like BB's in a gun. Gaga, Baldwin, Streep, Streisand, and many, many more. I almost had some "bladder leakage" I laughed so hard! For me, the funniest lines is when are about NYTimes critic Ben Brantley and I lost it when Nathan's character referred to him as "Benita".

In short, the play is about the post-opening night party for playwright Peter Austin's (Matthew Broaderick) new play at producer Julia Budder's (Megan Mullally) elegantly decorated eastside townhouse. Seeking refuge in her gorgeous bedroom, Hollywood actor, sitcom star, James Wicker (Nathan Lane) seeks refuge in her bedroom to avoid the crowd and phone his LA agents. He is soon joined by "has been" Hollywood actress and recent rehab releasee, with an ankle bracelet!, Virginia Noyes (Stockard Channing) hoping to make it big back on Broadway.

Also joining them are hated theater critic Ira Drew (F. Murray Abraham), director Frank Finer (Rupert Grint, looking very much like UK transvestite star Eddie Izzard) and newly arrived to NYC actor/waiter/singer/model heavy farm machinery driver Gus P Head (Micah Stock). It all makes for one rollicking fun fest as the reviews roll in.

Of note, Broadway newbie Micah Stock makes a great debut in his role as the young naive mid-Western farm boy who is picked up in Times Sq aftering getting off the bus by a gentlemen who offers him a room and a job...

If I had one criticism, it would be the flat performance of Matthew Broderick. Long criticized for never being prepared at the beginning of any of his Broadway productions, he stumbled over several lines last night. He has a very monotone delivery and was disappointing.

But the rest of the cast is terrific and you'll have a blast at this show.

Well worth full-priced seats. Sold-out last night!

Enjoy!!!

ED

[Frankly Rich]

One of the reasons that I did not enjoy as much as I had hoped to a Los Angeles production of Broadway Bound is that the Eugene character had not nearly the charm/charisma that Mathew Broderick had on Broadway. I hope he is up to snuff when I see the show in early October. I do know that he can be lazy, and when you see him on the street he always looks unkempt.

But, thanks for the good review, Ed. It makes me happy to have a ticket.

[edjames]

Still going strong in previews...

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/as-broadway-box-office-dips-its-only-a-play-excels/?ref=theater

[+ Chris Eisenhower]

Saw this production last night and I'm overjoyed to report that it is one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen on Bway!!!

I won't go into details but Nathan Lane SHINES in this role. This is Nathan at his very best. Terrance McNally has given him enough comedic zingers that they come fast and furious. No one is spared the wrath of McNally here. Celebrities names pop out regularly like BB's in a gun. Gaga, Baldwin, Streep, Streisand, and many, many more. I almost had some "bladder leakage" I laughed so hard! For me, the funniest lines is when are about NYTimes critic Ben Brantley and I lost it when Nathan's character referred to him as "Benita".

In short, the play is about the post-opening night party for playwright Peter Austin's (Matthew Broaderick) new play at producer Julia Budder's (Megan Mullally) elegantly decorated eastside townhouse. Seeking refuge in her gorgeous bedroom, Hollywood actor, sitcom star, James Wicker (Nathan Lane) seeks refuge in her bedroom to avoid the crowd and phone his LA agents. He is soon joined by "has been" Hollywood actress and recent rehab releasee, with an ankle bracelet!, Virginia Noyes (Stockard Channing) hoping to make it big back on Broadway.

Also joining them are hated theater critic Ira Drew (F. Murray Abraham), director Frank Finer (Rupert Grint, looking very much like UK transvestite star Eddie Izzard) and newly arrived to NYC actor/waiter/singer/model heavy farm machinery driver Gus P Head (Micah Stock). It all makes for one rollicking fun fest as the reviews roll in.

Of note, Broadway newbie Micah Stock makes a great debut in his role as the young naive mid-Western farm boy who is picked up in Times Sq aftering getting off the bus by a gentlemen who offers him a room and a job...

If I had one criticism, it would be the flat performance of Matthew Broderick. Long criticized for never being prepared at the beginning of any of his Broadway productions, he stumbled over several lines last night. He has a very monotone delivery and was disappointing.

But the rest of the cast is terrific and you'll have a blast at this show.

Well worth full-priced seats. Sold-out last night!

Enjoy!!!

ED

 

Saw it this evening to a packed house and enjoyed it thoroughly. Nathan Lane is great, but the surprise for me was Megan Mullaly, who was marvelous and extremely funny. The "Gus" character was also one of the most enjoyable aspects of the show, as well as the inside jokes and one-liners about the other plays, actors and theatre insiders in the Broadway community. I actually thought Matthew Broderick did a great job, as well as Rupert Grint.

[+ beethoven]

Saw this today, and liked it a lot. (That's not a rave.) Nathan Lane and Stockard Channing were just wonderful! I thought that Megan Mullaly was AWFUL, primarily because half her lines were unintelligible. I never saw her before, but does she really talk like that? If not, why in the world did she assume that ridiculous -- I know, it's meant to be funny -- manner of speaking? I think that Matthew Broderick gave a "flat" performance because that's what the director and writer wanted -- perhaps a foil to the other flamboyant characters and actors? Either that, or he's simply not very good.

[edjames]

Did "HE" like it?

 

The reviews are in...

 

http://nypost.com/2014/10/10/even-lane-and-mullally-cant-save-mcnallys-lazy-backstage-comedy-its-only-a-play/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/theater/matthew-broderick-nathan-lane-and-stockard-channing-in-its-only-a-play-on-broadway.html?ref=arts

[skynyc]

Well I think the producers are laughing all the way to the bank with their "box office" hit. Yes, it will make lots of money, and probably earn out for it's investors, but the critics, pretty much universally, didn't love it. Lane got raves across the board, but Broderick got pretty drubbed. And McNally didn't fare much better. More than one reviewer finished with comments such as "It's barely a play."

 

I see it next week, and am still looking forward to it.

[edjames]

EXTENDED (however briefly)!

However, Nathan Lane leaves the production Jan 4 and Martin Short will replace him for a few weeks.The hit Broadway comedy “It’s Only a Play” has a new star, a new home and a new closing date.

This news from NYTimes today:

 

The show’s producers announced on Thursday that the Tony Award-winning actor Martin Short (“Little Me”) will take over the role played by Nathan Lane when Mr. Lane departs the production on Jan. 4, 2015. Mr. Short’s first performance will be on Jan. 7. His last Broadway appearance was in the 2006 show “Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me.”

 

The producers also announced that “It’s Only a Play” has extended its run at the Schoenfeld Theater on West 45th Street, where it has set a new box-office record. Originally scheduled through Jan. 4, the play will instead run through Jan. 18.

 

But in an unusual move for a Broadway play, the show will then transfer next door to another Broadway house, the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, starting on Jan. 23. (The long-running musical “Once” closes there on Jan 4.) Performances are set for the Jacobs through March 29, 2015.

 

“It’s Only a Play” has been one of the top-performing plays on Broadway since opening in October, in part because of the popularity of Mr. Lane and his fellow cast mate, Matthew Broderick, who also appeared together in “The Producers.”

 

Mr. Lane had earlier announced he would appear in a production of “The Iceman Cometh” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in the spring.

 

And the Schoenfeld won’t sit empty for long; Helen Mirren will take the throne there as Queen Elizabeth in “The Audience” starting Feb. 17.

[skynyc]

My opinions both correspond and contradict the earlier posters here...

I found this fun, but hard to recommend because while I think Nathan Lane is giving a tremendous performance, (as and Stockard Channing and young Micah Stock), I found the play pretty bad. It didn't help that Matthew Broderick is giving a wooden performance that I really felt sucked the life out of every line.

 

The first act has some riotous moments, and my expectations were very high...but even though the references were updated, (often very humorously,) the play seemed date overall.

 

Mr. Stock's character's attempt to cheer the depressed party-goers with Defying Gravity...did save the second act, but not enough that I would recommend anyone pay the prices that are being sought on Stub Hub and the other scalping sites...upwards from $300.

I was taken for my birthday...and we had great seats, that were over $200, bought at the box office back in July.

 

For the $300 being asked for one ticket to this, you can almost take two friends to the much funnier You Can't Take it With You using the $99/seat offer on Broadwaybox.com. There you will see every penny of your ticket price in the large cast, and laugh just as hard.

[Doe Be Doe]

I enjoyed the play very much. It was my first opportunity to see Matthew Broderick live. He's still cute but he can't act worth a dime. What's wrong with him?

[Cooper]

I found the play pretty bad. It didn't help that Matthew Broderick is giving a wooden performance that I really felt sucked the life out of ever line.

 

I agree with you 100%. Tickets for this play were available today at TKTS at 50% discount.

 

It's Only A Play is well written and a funny play. Martin Short has taken over for Nathan Lane. It was easy to see that this part was written for Lane not Short. The coat check guy, Gus, was a great comic relief as in a Sheldon Cooper sort of way. The play started out fine and quickly captured my interest, like others, I was lol with the story. About 20 minutes into the 1st Act enters Matthew Broderick. Yes, wooden. He spoke his lines as if he were reading them. No emotion, no acting, just plain boring. Using his trademark high pitched childish voice (yawn), he lost me with that serious and political speech about the direction Broadway is heading in. From that point on, I began to quickly lose interest. The other cast members, F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing, Katie Finneran, Maulik Pancholy, Martin Short , and Micah Stock were all good and very funny. Each had their moment to shine... After a long 1st Act and intermission came, I debated whether to stay or leave. For me, the play had lost it's steam and became rather redundant.

 

Like skynyc, I doubt I'd recommend this play to any of my friends. Even though several shows have already closed, there are still some better plays to see. Can't wait till the new Broadway season begins.