Moving can be traumatic. (Ever hear of the study which reportedly found that moving measures high on the trauma scale just after death and divorce?) But last week, when the cast of the hit Broadway show It's Only A Play had to relocate to its new home at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, literally next door, the mood was more merry than miserable.
The actors (Martin Short, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, F. Murray Abraham, Katie Finneran, Maulik Pancholy and Micah Stock) had to change theaters to make way for Helen Mirren's new show, The Audience. So to mark the occasion, the entire cast took photos while ceremoniously schlepping props to their new space (with the help of playwright Terrence McNally).
They even posed with some of their most treasured possessions. For Micah Stock, it was a beautiful heartfelt note that McNally wrote to him which Stock keeps framed in his dressing room. Stockard Channing brought her loyal companion, her sweet 9-year-old pooch Fionnuala. The actress found the pit-mix when she was just a puppy and left in a stable in Burbank, California. "And now she's in show business," said Channing. "She goes to the theater every night and stays in my dressing room. We play 'lie down' together and she comforts me. She likes the [theater] company and the company likes her."
So will things change much now that the play is in a new locale? "It's a different theater. It's a different feel. You have to change your positions. Some sight lines are going to be different," said Short, who also added that he was keen on treating the re-opening more or less like any other night. "You don't try to put too much pressure on one night or then you'll fumble," said the actor. "That's what's fun about a long run. Each night becomes another chance at making something perfect."
And what would a re-opening be without an opening night starry crowd? Steve Martin, Diane Sawyer, Larry David, Tyne Daly, Kathleen Turner, Delia Ephron and Matthew Broderick's wife (aka Sarah Jessica Parker) were all on hand to see the hilarious play. "It's about as exciting as the original opening night," said Kathleen Turner.
To see photos from the big re-opening night, go to this article in Parade.