It's Only a Play

In honor of the opening of It's Only a Play today at the Schoenfeld Theatre, I though I'd give my thoughts on the play.  My sister and I were fortunate enough to see its first preview on August 28th.  The acting was superb.  Even with such an impressive cast I had made the assumption that there would be some sort of stiffness, some slips in speaking, anything really that would indicate it was their first performance.  Each cast member seemed to throw themselves completely into their role.



It was Rupert Grint and Micah Stock's first Broadway performance.  Micah Stock was just plain adorable (guys like being called that, right?)  In all seriousness he seems like a fantastic actor and an all around great guy, and I'm totally not just saying that last part because he's the only one who signed my playbill.  I'm not quite sure what I expected from Grint in his performance. Needless to say he surpassed all my expectations.  I had read in an interview that he was incredibly nervous about performing, but it didn't show at all.  Seriously, the guy was meant to be on stage. Take a look at the cast list and you will be able to guess the quality of the other actors' performances. (Fantastic, for all of you too lazy to click the link)

As amazing it was to be able to see such talented performers, both my sister and I left the theatre disappointed with the play we just saw.  I'm not entirely sure how to say this, but the play seemed to lack "substance."  It was humorous, but it became clear rather quickly that it relied entirely on the jokes to be entertaining.  Instead of advancing the play or adding any kind of depth to it, the jokes seemed to make it drag on.  They tried too hard at being "modern."  We get it, the play takes place in 2014.  The play is a reboot, and I have no idea if the original suffered from this problem.  Eventually it seemed like they were making a game at how many references they could throw at the audience.  It got real old, real fast.

All of this being said, I do wish I was able to see it after it opens.  It would be interesting to compare the first night of previews to opening night.  To see what changed and what stayed the same.  This was my first Broadway play, and I kind of feel like I haven't really experienced one because it hadn't opened.

Check back tomorrow for pictures and stage door awesomeness.