There’s no people like show people — and that’s true of every production.
It’s also precisely what “It’s Only a Play” is all about. The star-studded comedy revolving around a Broadway turkey celebrates on-stage and behind-the-scenes craziness.
“Everybody has their own thing to prepare for a role and to go on stage,” says Stockard Channing, who plays a hysterical diva in the show, which is now in previews. “Years ago, when I was starting out, people said, ‘You can’t eat before a show.’ But if I’m hungry, I eat.”
Matthew Broderick and Megan Mullally, who portray a writer and producer respectively, pipe down. “After half-hour,” says Broderick, “the only people I want in the locker room are the people who are going to be on the field.” Mullally echoes that idea, “I do like to take even just 30 seconds to just sit and meditate.”
F. Murray Abraham gets grateful. “I give thanks to my high school drama teacher Lucia P. Hutchins,” he says. “That’s where it all started.”
Nathan Lane, who plays a TV star, deadpans, “I don’t have a talisman or an altar that a I pray to. I do my work and do my best.”
Rupert Grint, of “Harry Potter” fame, exercises before hitting his mark, while newcomer Micah Stock does “a bit of light dancing to some Top 40 tunes in my dressing room — anything that helps me get out of my head and get the blood flowing.”
Expect antics from show people in these upcoming autumn productions on and off Broadway.
BROADWAY
“This Is Our Youth” (now running, Cort Theatre) Kieran Culkin, Michael Cera and Tavi Gevinson are almost-adults adrift in ’80s New York.
“Love Letters” (now running, Brooks Atkinson) A.R. Gurney’s pre-email 1988 play covers 50 years in the lives of a man and a woman through their telling correspondences. Mia Farrow and Brian Dennehy are up first in a starry evolving cast.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” (in previews; opens Oct. 5 at the Barrymore) Autistic teen turns detective and discovers unsettling truths in this adaptation of the bestselling book.
“It’s Only a Play” (in previews; opens Oct. 9 at the Schoenfeld) Terrence McNally’s comic love letter to Broadway takes place on the opening night of a play.
“The Country House” (in previews; opens Oct. 2 at the Friedman) Blythe Danner acts up as the head of a family of stage performers in this contemporary riff on Chekhov’s classic “The Seagull.”
“Disgraced” (previews Sept. 27; opens Oct. 23 at the Lyceum) This Pulitzer Prize-winning drama looks at race and identity through the eyes of a Muslim-American lawyer whose comfortable life is about to drastically change.
“You Can’t Take It With You” (in previews; opens Sept. 28 at the Longacre) Live the life you want is the evergreen message of this classic comedy starring James Earl Jones and Rose Byrne.
“The Last Ship” (previews Sept. 29; opens Oct. 26 at the Neil Simon) Sting debuts as a Broadway composer in an autobiographical story about a smalltown English community whose life-sustaining industry is going under.
“On the Town” (in previews; opens Oct. 16 at the Lyric) A classic musical valentine to New York that follows three sailors who learn that the Bronx is up and the Battery’s down.
“The Real Thing” (previews Oct. 2; opens Oct. 30 at the American Airlines) Ewan McGregor, a dramatist who’s having an affair, has written a play involving infidelity. Meta, no? Maggie Gyllenhaal and Cynthia Nixon also star.
“A Delicate Balance” (previews Oct. 20; opens Nov. 20 at the Golden) Glenn Close and John Lithgow are spouses with uninvited guests — and that includes real life.
“Side Show” (previews Oct. 28; opens Nov. 17 at the St. James) A re-imagined version of a short-lived ’97 musical about real-life conjoined twins.
“The River” (previews Oct. 31; opens Nov. 16 at Circle in the Square) Hugh Jackman stars in this thriller set in a remote cabin.
“The Elephant Man” (previews Nov. 7; opens Dec. 7 at the Booth) Bradley Cooper plays a deformed Brit who becomes a side show attraction.
“Honeymoon in Vegas” (previews Nov. 18; opens Jan. 15 at the Nederlander) Tony Danza stars as a high roller who wins a guy’s girlfriend in a bet, based on the film.
OFF-BROADWAY & BEYOND
“The Money Shot” (in previews; opens Sept. 22 at the Lucille Lortel) Elizabeth Reaser and Frederick Weller play glamorous and, more importantly, desperate movie stars in bad boy Neil LaBute’s latest. mcctheater.org
“The Valley of Astonishment” (in previews; opens at Theatre for a New Audience Sept. 18) Peter Brook and Marie-Helene Estienne explore mysteries of the brain and real people who see the world differently. tfana.org
“Scenes from a Marriage” (in previews; opens Sept. 22 at New York Theatre Workshop) Daring Dutch director Ivo van Hove puts his stamp on Ingmar Bergman’s 1974 film. nytw.org
“While I Yet Live” (previews Sept. 23; opens Oct. 12 at Primary Stages at the Duke on 42nd St.) “Kinky Boots” Tony-winning actor Billy Porter’s coming-of-age story set in Philadelphia. primarystages.org
“The Fortress of Solitude” (previews Sept. 30; opens Oct. 22 at the Public Theater) Jonathan Lethem’s novel about 1970s Brooklyn and superheroes gets a musical makeover. publictheater.org
“Billy & Ray” (previews Oct. 2; opens Oct. 20 at the Vineyard) Garry Marshall directs Vincent Kartheiser and Larry Pine, who play Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler in this noir-y tale. vineyardtheatre.org
“The Oldest Boy” (previews Oct. 9; opens Nov. 3 at the Mitze E. Newhouse) Tony nominee Celia Keenan-Bolger is a wife and mom with a Tibetan husband, a toddler who just might be the reincarnation of a renowned Buddhist teacher and a heart-wrenching dilemma. lct.org
“Lips Together, Teeth Apart” (previews Oct. 7; opens Oct. 29 Second Stage) America Ferrera, Michael Chernus, Tracee Chimo and Austin Lysy star in Terrence McNally’s sharp comedy about two married couples spending an anxious 4th of July on Fire Island. It’s the show’s first New York revival in 23 years. 2st.com
“Found” (in previews; opens Oct. 14 at the Atlantic Theater Company) Discarded notes and letters, drawn from Found Magazine, form the spine of this new musical. atlantictheater.org
“Lost Lake” (previews Oct. 21; opens Nov. 11 at Manhattan Theatre Club) “Proof” writer David Auburn and director Daniel Sullivan reteam for a story of a woman drawn into her landlord’s troubles. John Hawkes and Tracie Thoms star. manhattantheatreclub.com
“Deliverance” (previews begin Oct. 10; opens Oct. 21 at 59 E. 59 Theaters). James Dickey’s novel about a harrowing canoe trip in Georgia inspired an unforgettable film. Now it’s a play. 59E59.org
“Angels in America” (Oct. 23-25 BAM Harvey Theater) Director Ivo van Hove — yep, him again — tackles Tony Kushner’s gay fantasia on national themes in a 5-hour marathon. bam.org
“Pocatello” (previews Nov. 21; opens Dec. 15 at Playwrights Horizons) T.R. Knight stars in Samuel D. Hunter’s latest Idaho tale, which follows the manager of a chain restaurant struggling for connection. T.R. Knight stars.
