"The Understudy" at Artist's Rep

"The Understudy" is a play about theatre and acting. This made me wary.  Sometimes writers writing about their own world isn't always exciting. "The Understudy" however is hilarious, though it must be noted that quite a bit of the humor is of the insider variety, including a brilliant off-handed takedown of Jeremy Piven and his dubious departure from "Speed-the-plow" due to mercury poisoning. The play could probably be described as a satire, but the word suggests viciousness, and "The Understudy" is very much a love-note to theatre. In fact, my favorite moment is the dance sequence at the end, a silly and yet elegant metaphor for the value of doing art for its own sake. I also conversed with someone after the show who said that in the script the only instruction is "they dance," which makes the unabashed goofiness of the dance all the funnier. If you are interested in watching what it takes to put on a show, and having a few laughs while you're at it, you will enjoy "The Understudy"