New Stars in the Wings: Tony Winner Katie Finneran & 30 Rock's Maulik Pancholy Will Join Cast of It’s Only a Play

Two-time Tony winner Katie Finneran & former 30 Rock star Maulik Pancholy will step into It’s Only a Play on Broadway! Finneran will play Julia Budder, taking over for Megan Mullally, and Pancholy will make his Broadway debut as Frank Finger, replacing Rupert Grint. The two will begin performances on January 7, 2015.

As previously announced, Tony winner Martin Short will also join the cast on January 7, taking over for Nathan Lane. The Terrence McNally comedy will play at its current home, the Schoenfeld Theatre, through January 18 before moving to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where it will begin performances on January 23 and play through March 29. Matthew Broderick, F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing and Micah Stock will remain with the show through then.

Finneran won the Tony for her performances in Promises, Promises and Noises Off. Her additional Broadway credits include Annie, Mauritius, Cabaret, The Iceman Cometh, Neil Simon's Proposals, The Heiress, In the Summerhouse, My Favorite Year, Two Shakespearean Actors and On Borrowed Time. She will appear in the upcoming drama series, Bloodline on Netflix. Other TV credits include The Michael J. Fox Show, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Wonderfalls and The Inside.

Pancholy is best known for playing Jonathan on 30 Rock and Sanjay on Weeds. His other TV credits include Whitney, Web Therapy The Comeback, The Good Wife, Looking, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Sopranos and Tracey Takes On. On the big screen, he has appeared in films such as 27 Dresses, Friends with Money and Hitch. Off-Broadway theater credits include Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend and Aunt Dan & Lemon.

It's Only a Play, directed by Jack O’Brien, is set on the opening night of Broderick's character Peter Austin's new play as he anxiously awaits to see if his show is a hit. With his career on the line, he shares his big first night with his best friend, a television star, his fledgling producer, his erratic leading lady, his wunderkind director, an infamous drama critic and a wide-eyed coat check attendant on his first night in Manhattan.