The Understudy by Theresa Rebeck, zippily directed by Scott Ellis, is a concoction about theatrical foibles. An actor (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), his understudy (Justin Kirk), and a stage manager (the great farceur, Julie White) populate this overacted, overdone farce that is all great fun as the vanities and silliness of thespians are magnified into a ridiculous reality. It's a roast of the acting profession in a mixture of narration and performance, given an almost-believability by these talented, pro actors.
The set by Alexander Dodge takes the play into a higher dimension, and costumes by Tom Broecker and lighting by the master Kenneth Posner lift the whole proceedings. It's all very broad, very funny, acted with complete conviction, and all totally entertaining.
