4-time Tony winner Terrence McNally’s hilarious love letter to Broadway runs through February 9
It’s opening night of Peter Austin’s new play as he anxiously waits 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, his novice producer, his doped-up diva, his genius director, a lethal drama critic, and a fresh-off-the-bus coat check attendant on his first night in Manhattan. It’s alternately raucous, ridiculous and tender — and shows that sometimes the biggest laughs happen offstage. The New York Times said, “This show is without a doubt hilariously, sidesplittingly funny… These are among the funniest lines to roll off a stage in years!”
The production is directed by Aric Martin, produced by Kalila Horwitz, and stage managed by Ashley DeFrancesco, with costume design by Kristie Mattsson and set and lighting design by William Wilday. The cast features (in alphabetical order) Chris Aruffo, Michael Bernstein, David Callander, Joanna Churgin, Justin Heller, Kelly McReynolds, and Kent Navarette.
T’S ONLY A PLAY is an entertaining comedy/farce/satire which alternates between raucous and ridiculous – all the while keeping the audience on their toes in a laugh-a-minute fest. Theater audiences will enjoy seeing how “the other half” – those in front of the lights rather than behind – lives and survives. IT’S ONLY A PLAY proves that sometimes the biggest laughs happen offstage. To quote the 2014 New York Times review: “These are among the funniest lines to roll off a stage in years.” This critic for one thinks that the Morgan-Wixson has outdone itself in this superb production.
With ticket prices maxing at a mere $25 (and half that if you shop around for discounts) and performances that more than hold their own against those you'd see in houses charging three or four times that much, It’s Only A Play is easily the best theatrical bargain in town. It might also end up the funniest, best acted comedy of the season.
Directed by Aric Martin with a real appreciation of McNally's wit and a keen sense of how to keep the actors moving at a pace that perfectly reflects their intense emotional turmoil, IT'S ONLY A PLAY now onstage at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica takes us inside the master bedroom suite of producer Julia Budder's luxurious Manhattan townhouse where the cast and production team are gathering, while a who's who list of celebrities is gathering to eat and drink their way into the wee hours of the morning after the opening night of Peter Austin's new play as he anxiously waits to see if his show is a hit. McNally runs with the idea, taking no prisoners across two acts boasting almost as many Broadway name-drops as punch lines, all delivered with perfect comic timing by a cast of talented actors who know how important it is to both give and take with each other as the wide range of human emotions overcomes the "stars" who hope and pray this play will revive their struggling careers. And all the while, the laughs abound non-stop.
T’S ONLY A PLAY is an entertaining comedy/farce/satire which alternates between raucous and ridiculous – all the while keeping the audience on their toes in a laugh-a-minute fest. Theater audiences will enjoy seeing how “the other half” – those in front of the lights rather than behind – lives and survives. IT’S ONLY A PLAY proves that sometimes the biggest laughs happen offstage. To quote the 2014 New York Times review: “These are among the funniest lines to roll off a stage in years.” This critic for one thinks that the Morgan-Wixson has outdone itself in this superb production.
With ticket prices maxing at a mere $25 (and half that if you shop around for discounts) and performances that more than hold their own against those you'd see in houses charging three or four times that much, It’s Only A Play is easily the best theatrical bargain in town. It might also end up the funniest, best acted comedy of the season.
Directed by Aric Martin with a real appreciation of McNally's wit and a keen sense of how to keep the actors moving at a pace that perfectly reflects their intense emotional turmoil, IT'S ONLY A PLAY now onstage at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica takes us inside the master bedroom suite of producer Julia Budder's luxurious Manhattan townhouse where the cast and production team are gathering, while a who's who list of celebrities is gathering to eat and drink their way into the wee hours of the morning after the opening night of Peter Austin's new play as he anxiously waits to see if his show is a hit. McNally runs with the idea, taking no prisoners across two acts boasting almost as many Broadway name-drops as punch lines, all delivered with perfect comic timing by a cast of talented actors who know how important it is to both give and take with each other as the wide range of human emotions overcomes the "stars" who hope and pray this play will revive their struggling careers. And all the while, the laughs abound non-stop.
