It's Only a Play is a play by Terrence McNally. The play originally opened off-off-Broadway in 1982. It was revived off-Broadway in 1986, and on Broadway in 2014. The plot concerns a party where a producer, playwright, director, actors and their friends eagerly wait for the opening night reviews of their Broadway play. Productions It's Only a Play was revised from an unsuccessful 1978 play originally entitled Broadway, Broadway, which had closed during tryouts in Philadelphia in 1978. Geraldine Page and James Coco were in the Philadelphia cast, and the play was set to open on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. However, the Philadelphia reviews were negative and the Broadway opening was canceled. In 1984, McNally said that after Broadway, Broadway closed he was no longer confident, but finally realized that having a show close is not the worst thing that could happen. The play, rewritten and retitled, was produced off-off-Broadway by Manhattan Punch Line at the Actors and Directors Theatre, in November 1982. Paul Benedict directed, with a cast that included Frances Cuka as Julia Budder, Richard Leighton as James Wicker, Paul Guilfoyle as Frank Finger, Ken Kliban as Ira Drew and Harriet Rogers as Emma. The play was revived off-Broadway by the Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center Stage 1, with previews starting December 17, 1985, and running from January 11, 1986, to January 26, 1986. Directed by John Tillinger, the cast featured Christine Baranski (Julia Budder), Paul Benedict (Ira Drew), Mark Blum (Peter Austin), James Coco (James Wicker), David Garrison (Frank Finger), Joanna Gleason (Virginia Noyes) and Florence Stanley (Emma). John Tillinger was nominated for the 1986 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play. A revised version was produced by the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson at the Doolittle Theatre, Los Angeles, California, in April 1992. John Tillinger directed, with a cast that featured Eileen Brennan (Virginia Noyes), Sean O'Bryan (Gus, a waiter), Charles Nelson Reilly (James Wicker), David Hyde Pierce (Frank Finger), Dana Ivey (Julia Budder), Paul Benedict (Ira Drew), Željko Ivanek (Peter Austin) and Doris Roberts (Emma). It's Only a Play began its Broadway run at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on August 28, 2014, in previews and officially opened on October 9, 2014. McNally rewrote the play again to bring the setting to the current day, and replaced the character of Emma with Gus, an aspiring actor. It was originally scheduled for