You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

So I saw a play last night -- Terence McNally's It's Only a Play. It's the first time this play has been on Broadway. It premiered off-off-Broadway in 1982, was an Off-Broadway production in 1986, and had a production in L.A. in 1992. McNally rewrote it for this most recent production, so that it would be more modern (and since theater in-jokes are a huge part of the play's humor, it had to be updated to be more timely). It features F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally and Michael Stock. Oh, and Rupert Grint. :-) [I note, as a long-time fangirl of David Hyde Pierce, that DHP was in the L.A. production in the role that Rupert plays in this, though I suspect the role was significantly different than it is in this new version.]

My decision to go see it was a rash one, and in my haste to get a good seat for the very first performance (as I felt it was my fandom duty to do, so that I could report back), I neglected to see if any of my NY friends wanted to see it with me. Sorry about that! It's a lovely -- and very funny -- play, and Rupert is wonderful. I was very proud of him holding his own on stage with Broadway royalty.

The play takes place at an after-party, following the opening night of a play, as the characters await the reviews. Rupert plays the young British director -- part of a running gag of Brits taking over Broadway (along with Disney musicals and movie-to-musical productions). Matthew Broderick is the woebegone playwright, Megan Mullally is the play's producer, Stockard Channing is the play's female lead, F. Murray Abraham is a critic who wants to be a playwright, Nathan Lane is a television actor (formerly a stage actor) and the playwright's close friend, and Michael Stock is an aspiring performer who is checking people's coats at the party.

Pretty much every character is showy and over-the-top, but Rupert's character, Sir (soon to be Lord) Frank Finger is the most over-the-top of them all. He has an extended bit with a puppet that for me was the comic high point of the play. He also has some gloriously messed up hair (like Bob Dylan bedhead turned up to 11), and wears the most outlandish patterned suit you've ever seen (Hannibal Lecter, eat your heart out![/cannibal pun]).

The downside of seeing a play on opening night of previews is that this is the first time the actors have done their dialogue with an audience watching, and with a play with as many funny lines as this has, that affects timing quite a bit. Nearly everyone struggled with it (Nathan Lane seemed to have the best handle on it) and I missed a handful of Rupert's lines because he didn't wait quite long enough for the laughter to die down. There was also a bit in the first act where Rupert had to, errr, pull down his pants, and until he has a chance to leave the stage for a few minutes he never quite got the zipper all the way back up. First night kinks, which I'm sure will smooth out during previews, and none of it really distracting.

Among the new bits McNally wrote for this new production was a joke about Daniel Radcliffe, which is HILARIOUS and I'll explain it here for those who won't be able to see this, but if you're planning to come see it here (it closes in January and if it's put on again I imagine the jokes will be tweaked to keep it timely) you might want to skip to the next paragraph. [JOKE SPOILER] There's a running gag with the coat check guy repeatedly coming in with piles of coats and announcing new people who've arrived at the party, many of them crashers (*brings in shiny, gauzy jewel-tone fabrics* "The cast of Aladdin just arrived!" *brings in animal print fabrics* "The Lion King!"). At one point he brings in what is clearly a child's coat and says "Daniel Radcliffe is here! (*enormous laughs from audience*) I pretended not to know that he knew I knew who he was." I should add that I'm 99% certain that Rupert was not on stage when this line was delivered. I'm positive I would have looked for a giggle from him if he had been, and the joke is less obvious with him not there. [/END OF SPOILER]

Lovely play. Nathan Lane is the MVP, but Rupert is delightful, and I hope he gets to do a lot more theater in the future.