‘Understudy’ sheds light on the underappreciated

It’s hard to make a simple play without it being, well, boring. So when huge chorus lines, complicated sets, and a large variety of actors are replaced with quality acting, witty dialogue, and a creative story, the audience has something to cheer about.

That’s just what the audience gets with Theresa Rebeck’s new play “The Understudy,” produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company. With only three actors, Rebeck and director Scott Ellis manage to create a highly amusing and yet somewhat touching portrayal of the thankless job of an understudy in a Broadway production of Kafka’s undiscovered play.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar (from the ’90s show “Saved By the Bell”) plays a famous movie star named Jake, while Justin Kirk is his understudy, Harry, the epitome of a penniless actor. Julie White plays the harried stage manager, Roxanne, who must deal with a stoned and unpredictable tech manager, Jake’s demands, and her previous relationship with Harry.

With only three characters, Ellis and Rebeck keep the play from dragging. There were no awkward silences, and even the set changes coincided well with the plot. What makes the play unique, however, is the use of the theater aisles. Indeed, Gosselaar first makes his entrance from the back of the theater, running by the audience on his way to center stage.

Overall, the actors delivered. Gosselaar played the obnoxious movie star and Kafka aficionado with ease and confidence, and Kirk gave a hilarious and somewhat dysfunctional portrayal of the quirky, sarcastic Harry.

White stood out amongst the cast members as the failed actress turned stage manager. She delivered her cutting lines with the perfect amount of sardonic wit and balances sincere emotional monologues with funny interjections. Her speech about being left at the altar by Harry was extraordinarily touching. Coincidentally, this is not White’s first collaboration with Rebeck. They first met in 1992 and have worked together several times since then, perhaps explaining White’s comfort in playing this character.

But great acting is possible without a powerful script, which Rebeck has so aptly provided. The exchanges between the characters were believable and engaging. The romantic scenes between Roxanne and Harry and between Roxanne and Jake were a little trying, but the love aspect of the play was not overpowering.

Rebeck effortlessly combines both hilarity and emotion. Perhaps the most poignant scene of the play is the arbitrary dance at the end to what sounds like some sort of German folk music when all three characters realize they have lost their jobs. We see then that the absurdity of show business is both funny and profoundly sad.