‘It’s Only a Play’ @ Lakeside Community Theatre
—Jan Farrington
The late playwright Terrence McNally was a great lover of the “inside baseball” of theater: the personalities, the feuds, the egos, the competition, the one-night stands, the dashed hopes, the sudden hits…and misses. It’s all onstage in Lakeside Community Theatre’s fun production of his zany (and ultimately loving) It’s Only a Play.
In keeping with the script’s overall theme, an offstage emergency shaped the performance I saw. Actor Michael Miller was ill, and his major role was taken over by David J. Wallis, the show’s director (and LCT’s artistic head). Wallis clutched the script in one hand and juggled props with the other—but beyond flushed cheeks and a bit of forehead perspiration, he appeared to jump into the role with gusto.
The story follows the fate of a brand-new American play titled The Golden Egg—and is set during an opening-night party at the producer’s Manhattan home. Everyone, from every show in town, has gathered to drink, nosh, and wait for the reviews.
We are in an upstairs bedroom, where a wide bed is loaded with a growing pile of the guests’ coats. We meet Gus (Ana Ortega-Williams), a theater-loving young person hired to lug furs and jackets up the stairs. This is Julia’s home (Dana Naughton plays the wealthy producer), and she comes in with James (“Jimmy”) Wicker in tow. He’s the star of a long-running TV sitcom, and a friend of playwright Peter (Zeke Fayble).
Party noise comes drifting up the stairs; James talks to “L.A.” on the phone, dropping theater names (to Gus’ delight) and juicy gossip. Virginia (Amanda Carson Green), the lead actress in the play (and a refugeee from her shrinking movie career) comes in, grabs the phone, and tells “L.A.” what it can do with itself. And we find out, somewhere in the chatter, that James turned down the lead in Peter’s play…and now fears he might miss out on a Tony.
The party downstairs sounds like rowdy fun, but the principals involved with Peter’s play aren’t in the mood. This is a waiting game, and who knows what the critics will say? Along the way, McNally’s script skewers British actors and writers (they take up too much room in American theaters), and theater critics who work at being mean. They all turn to look at Ira the Eviscerator (Jared Seman), a particularly nasty critic who’s hiding from his enemies downstairs. The play’s British director Frank (Ian Grygotis) gets melodramatic all over the bed. He gets awards (he says) no matter what nonsense he puts onstage. He’d love to fail…and go home for a rest.
McNally’s script gins up the craziness, and his coming timing is great: it’s like being in a fast car with a really good driver. And every so often, he slows down to let his deep feelings about theater come up for air—especially in the funny but heartfelt group prayer that closes the first half of the play.
Wallis and Fayble make convincing odd-couple friends: James chews scenery, while Peter has the sad-sackiness of playwrights, who generally expect a flop. Naughton’s Julia is the nurturing mama bear, always ready to give a hug—or toss more cash into the show. Green as Virginia has a great stage voice and a bag full of goodies to ease her sorrows (bad reviews from Ira and Ben Brantley among them). Ortega-Williams’ cheery (and tuneful) Gus might surprise us with a future life in showbiz. And Grygotis’ Frank is, simply, a wild-eyed bundle of strangeness. (Was all that hilarity in the script?) One more weekend after this….
WHEN: February 16-March 2, 2024
WHERE: LCT, 6303 Main Street, The Colony (TX)
WEB: lctthecolony.com
