This is a copy of the review that first appeared in Broad Street Review after opening night. After the first weekend, it was sold out for the entire run.
Terence McNally was one of America’s greatest playwrights whose career spanned some six decades and who received Tony awards for “Master Class, Love, Valour, Compassion, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Ragtime.” His work dealt with the struggles of life and the challenging connections between people. He wrote plays and musicals that continue to be performed all around the world. But “It’s Only a Play,” written in 1978 under the title “Broadway, Broadway,” starring Geraldine Page, closed in previews in Philadelphia. It would be seven more years before the comedy was rewritten with a new title, opening off-Broadway in New York with Christine Baranski. It was a huge success. Act II Playhouse has brought “It’s Only a Play” to its intimate theater in Ambler, but it’s not the 1985 show- rather it’s the result of further revisions by McNally to bring it up to date and that came to Broadway in 2014. It’s an outstanding production. And it’s very funny.
The play begins in the hotel suite of the producer of the new play, “The Golden Egg,” by Peter Austen, which just opened that evening at the Ethel Barrymore Theater.. His old friend, James Wicker, who has flown in from California, has arrived first, and he fills us in about how bad the play, and particularly the lead actor, was. Wicker had to turn down the role which was written for him because he was locked into the tv show he had been in for nine years. In short order, he is joined by the bellhop (an aspiring actor), the producer, Julia Budder, the lead actress in the play, Virginia Noyes, the playwright, Peter Austen, the director, Frank Finder, and a theater critic, Ira Drew. If this seems like a lot, it’s not. McNally gives each a unique comedic element that keeps us engaged and laughing as they discuss the quality of the just-performed play and are reminded- it’s only a play.
They are all together to await the early reviews of the play, hoping for success so that it may have a long run on Broadway. Budder is sweet, but somewhat of a simpleton making, malapropisms. Nevertheless, she had the money to invest in the play. Noyes is an experienced actress with lots of issues and wears an ankle monitor because of her criminal record and drug addiction. Finger is a talented young director but also a bit of a thief. And Drew is simply a mean critic who has a nasty word for everyone. Each of the characters was fun to observe.
There are jokes about Hollywood versus New York and about tv and film versus live theater. There are jokes about the famous people that were in the audience for the show that night. There are intellectual jokes and bad jokes. Yet this isn’t a slapstick comedy. It is a smart one. We are laughing at the situations presented and about the lies they tell.
When the first act ends, the reviews are just starting to appear. The laughter doubles in the second act. Comedy is such a personal thing and what appeals to one person may not translate into laughs for another. I wondered whether this play would appeal as much to a younger generation as it did to me and to the mostly senior audience in attendance. Still, the amazing ensemble is captivating with every word.
Tony Braithwaite, with his acerbic dry humor, heads the cast, as he portrays the visiting friend. The critic, played by Teti, has a curmudgeon-like quality that is cruel, but crazily funny. My favorite was E. Ashley Izard, the brash, yet insecure actress, as she deals with the reviews as well as her anklet and drug issues. This is a hilarious ensemble, with different comedic styles, put together by Director Kevin Glaccum, and it couldn’t have been stronger.
“It’s Only a Play” by Terrence McNally at Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Avenue., Ambler, PA 19002, 215-654-0200, act2.org Thru April 14, 2024
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 