It's Only a Play

Backstage drama is a virtual goldmine for playwrights — all the comedy, tragedy, romance and tension you need for good theater is right there, playing out among the actors, producers and critics. The weird and wacky world that exists behind a curtain is complex, vicious, twisted and funny the way Terrence McNally sees it in his Broadway satire It’s Only a Play. The sharp send-up of all things theater is a snapshot of an opening night party for a Broadway production of The Golden Egg, where producers, directors and actors wait for reviews to come out. As they wait, egos clash, insecurities surface and confrontations turn raucous. The Uptown Players get meta for the venomous comedy in a production that stars B.J. Cleveland and Chamblee Ferguson onstage at Kalita Humphreys Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd., beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, July 15. Additional performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through July 31. Tickets are $10 to $40 at uptownplayers.org.