It’s Only a Play
COURTESY OF DEWAYNE MORGAN
05/05/2023 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Cost: $12-$15
CL RECOMMENDS
CL Critic Kevin C. Madigan Recommends: Renowned playwright, screenwriter and librettist Terence McNally came up with It’s Only a Play in 1982 after a previous version entitled Broadway Broadway failed to find an audience. The plot concerns a party at which a producer, a director, actors and hangers-on anxiously await opening night reviews of their new play. The synopsis describes It’s Only a Play as “raucous, ridiculous, and hilarious, and proves that sometimes the biggest laughs happen offstage.” Associated Press writer Michael Kuchwara called the show a “maliciously funny diatribe about the desperate and demented business of producing a play.” Its successful Broadway run started a decade ago at the Schoenfeld Theatre and featured actors Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, F. Murray Abraham, Micah Stock, Megan Mullaly and Rupert Grint. A New York Times reviewer wrote at the time: “This show is, without a doubt, hilariously, side-splittingly funny. These are among the funniest lines to roll off a stage in years. It’s Only a Play deserves only a rave.” McNally became famous for exploring human relationships, often using dark humor, and received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2019, among numerous other accolades. — KCM
From the venue:
The Process Theatre presents It’s Only a Play by Terrence McNally. It’s opening night of Peter Austin’s new play as he anxiously awaits the reviews at the opening night party with the clueless Producer, his genesis Director, the doped-up Diva Star, his best friend, a lethal critic and a fresh off the bus coat check attendant. The play is raucous, ridiculous and hilarious, and proves that sometimes the biggest laughs happen offstage.