Princeton Summer Theater’s double bill of one-acts, The Actor’s Nightmare (1981) by Christopher Durang and The Real Inspector Hound (1968) by Tom Stoppard, is an insider’s delight with both plays set in a theater, both plays about plays, performances and actors (and, in the latter case, critics too). The highly skilled young performers of these brilliantly clever works at the Hamilton Murray Theater on the Princeton University campus through August 2, enjoy themselves immensely in their madcap endeavors, and the enjoyment inexorably spreads through the loudly laughing audience. 

The evening might be light on profundities, moral issues or serious social commentary. Though, in the first play, there is certainly psychological insight into the mind of the panicked actor whose “nightmare” involves his being thrust on stage to perform in a role he’s never rehearsed, and, in The Real Inspector Hound, into the minds of the two pretentious, self-absorbed, obsessive critics watching an Agatha-Christie-like whodunit murder mystery, the psychology does not probe too deep and the satire is gentle.

Mr. Durang and Mr. Stoppard are holding up their mirrors to nature, in particular to human nature as it manifests itself in the world of theater. These mirrors are fun house mirrors and the images are hilarious. This is not the bitingly harsh lampoon of Mr. Durang at his most vitriolic (as in Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All, for example), nor the philosophical depth of Stoppard at his most profound (as in Arcadia or Coast of Utopia, for example).

Mr. Durang at age 66 and Mr. Stoppard at 78 are two of the greatest playwrights of the past half century, masters of wit and wordplay and among the funniest scriptwriters of all time. In addition to the titles mentioned above, Mr. Durang’s most successful plays include Vanya Sonya, Masha and Spike, Betty’s Summer Vacation, The Marriage of Bette and Boo and Beyond Therapy. Mr. Stoppard’s many other memorable creations include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Real Thing and the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. But the humor of The Actor’s Nightmare and of The Real Inspector Hound represents each playwright at his best, and these two plays, under the dynamic, imaginative, at times zany direction of Brad Wilson, complement each other admirably.

The Actor’s Nightmare wastes no time igniting the action, then ratcheting up the anxiety and humor. George (Evan Thompson), an accountant, suddenly, inexplicably, finds himself in a theater, accosted by the stage manager (Caroline Hertz), who tells him he must go on stage in a few minutes.

She disappears and the pace quickens as the stage manager leaves and actors appear with increasing urgency. They seem to know George and to assume he knows them and knows the role he will be playing, but George, costumed now as Hamlet, remains mystified.

As the curtain rises for the play(s)-within-the-play, George—alternately plucky, perplexed and panicked—forges ahead bravely, trying to probe his memory for every line he can recall, from plays, speeches, novels and eventually even from the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Occasionally he even manages to deliver a line or two that his fellow actors can respond to. The play-within-the play at first seems to be Noel Coward’s Private Lives, then suddenly shifts to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, then Samuel Beckett’s End Game, then Happy Days — and finally Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons. The audience shares George’s confusion and desperation as the action accelerates, the allusions fly fast and furious, and he struggles to keep up.

Though unfortunate George is in over his head from the start, Mr. Thompson is not. He plays the leading role with appealing style, credibility and panache. His reactions are certainly extreme, but the style suits this fantastical play, and he readily draws the audience into his plight, winning our sympathy and laughter.

His supporting actors, all in larger-than-life roles, maintain an effective balance, playing their broad farcical roles to the hilt without going over the top. Ms. Hertz’s fiery-tempered stage manager, Bits Sola’s “grand actress” in multiple roles, Maeve Brady as “another actress, not as grand,” especially amusing in her absurd Beckettian roles and Ross Baron as a highly stylized “grand actor” play off the protagonist effectively, exacerbate his sense of confusion and help to deliver an abundance of laughs during the frenetic, fast-pace action leading up to the dramatic finale.

The Real Inspector Hound, following immediately in a remarkably efficient transition, begins in what appears to be a more realistic setting: another theater, but this time we find ourselves in the company of a theater critic, Moon (the extraordinary Mr. Thompson again!), sitting in his seat, waiting for the start of a play, a murder mystery. Highly nervous, insecure and loquacious, Moon is obsessed with being the second-string critic, on assignment only as a stand-in for the lead critic Higgs. (“The cry goes up from hill to hill—Where—is—Higgs?”)

Moon is soon joined by Birdboot (Ross Baron), another critic, pompous, pretentious, this one obsessed with his box of chocolates, his reputation and his amorous interests in one of the cast members. Mr. Stoppard started his career in England as a journalist and drama critic, and, even though he claims, “I was an awful critic,” his creation of these characters is spot-on, delightfully ridiculous and mocking, but at the same time close enough to realistic to be thoroughly engaging.

As the critics settle in, the lights rise on the set for a stereotypical whodunit melodrama, modeled on Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. Muldoon Manor is cut off from the outside world, a special radio broadcast reports a killer on the loose, and we can even see a dead body “hidden” under the settee in the living room. The legendary Inspector Hound will soon be on his way to solve the mystery.

The parody here is superb, as extreme melodrama on the set interweaves with the obsessive and pompous commentary of Moon and Birdboot. Sarah Cuneo as Mrs. Drudge the housekeeper specializes in: 1) providing and spoofing the delivery of the contrived exposition (“Hello, the drawing-room of Lady Muldoon’s country residence one morning in early spring…this is all very mysterious and I’m sure it’s leading up to something…”); and 2) repeatedly presenting her shocked, fearful gasp, as she just happens to overhear various characters threatening murderous deeds.

Ms. Sola as Felicity Cunningham and Ms. Brady as Lady Cynthia Muldoon are memorably melodramatic, funny and in character in their fatal rivalry for the affections of the enigmatic interloper and cad Simon Gascoyne (Phil Rosen). Magnus Muldoon (David Drew), the heavily disguised wheelchair-ridden half-brother of Lady Muldoon’s husband who mysteriously disappeared ten years ago, proves to be “leading a double life—at least!” and Dan Caprera as Hound enters the scene with great flourish in the last third of the play.

The finale here is a tour de force—of performance and of Stoppardian comic playwriting—as the plot tangles further, first Moon then Birdboot crosses onto the stage and becomes inextricably and fatally interwoven into the drama of Muldoon Manor, as identities shift and melodramatic twists and meta-twists proliferate.

Mr. Wilson’s sure hand keeps the energy high, the pace moving and the action focused and as clear as possible. Jeffrey Van Velsor’s designs successfully and economically provide the appropriate background for these chaotic shenanigans, and, along with Eric Falcon’s lighting and Joseph Haggerty’s sound–both luridly melodramatic, sharpen the parody and heighten the melodrama. Caitlin Brown’s costumes, for both plays, are on target and helpful in bringing these characters and their peculiar circumstances to life.

If you’re an actor or other theater insider or a critic or a fan of whodunits, these two one-act masterpieces will have particular resonance for you, but this wild and wacky 90-minute production is replete with wisdom, hilarity and non-stop entertainment, whether you identify the numerous allusions or just sit back and enjoy the ride.