page_title: Andy's Play
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Andy's Play / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Ed Helms at the premiere for The Hangover.
context_page_description: "Andy's Play" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 129th episode overall. Written by Charlie Grandy and directed by John Stuart Scott, the episode aired on NBC in the United States on October 7, 2010. Guest stars include Robert Mammana, Phil Abrams and Robert R. Shafer.
  The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Andy Bernard lands a role in a local production of Sweeney Todd and invites the entire office to the performance, hoping to impress his former girlfriend, Erin Hannon. While Michael Scott struggles to put his jealousy aside, Jim Halpert and Pam Halpert have trouble with their less-than-stellar babysitter, Erin.
  Originally, the producers and writers wanted the in-show musical to be performed badly, but they later changed their minds and decided that the musical should be quality work, according to Helms. The episode featured several guest actors and actresses to round out the parts in the musical.
context_section_description: "Andy's Play" first aired on October 7, 2010. In its original American broadcast, it was viewed by an estimated 6.95 million viewers with a 3.5 rating/10 percent share among adults between the age of 18 and 49. This means that 3.5 percent of all 18- to 49-year-old households watched the episode, and ten percent of that demographic had their televisions tuned to the channel at any point. This marked a 0.2 rating decrease from the previous weeks episode, although the episode ranked second in its time slot and was the highest-rated NBC series of the night.
  This episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. James Poniewozik of Time magazine wrote that, "'Andy's Play' was the kind of strong, character driven episode I've missed from the show—not just good by later season standards but an actual good Office episode, period." Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic wrote that the episode was a reminder of "what has always been great about this show". Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote that the episode "worked largely because it embraced [the] idea" that "the bonds you form at work go deeper than carpet, and that if you work with people long enough they can feel like your family." He ultimately concluded that the episode was one that "makes me happy [that] I spent an evening in the company of these goofballs."
  Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+", stating that it was "inconclusive" proof whether or not Andy could be the show's lead, in advance of Steve Carell's exit from the series, but that "in terms of providing entertainment, I think the episode worked quite well" and was "honest and charming". Vulture writer Phoebe Reilly was slightly critical of Apple product placements—Ryan's iPad and Andy's iPhone—but found the use of the second "still funny: the signature chirp of Andy’s iPhone interrupts a scene, prompting him to pretend it’s a bird that he has to silence by saying, 'He's gone to sleep now. I've closed his beak.'"
  Many reviews commented upon Andy's phone-interrupted onstage scene. Poniewozik praised "Andy’s flop-sweat attempt to improvise his way out of his cellphone's going off while running up against the limits of what his character knows about Sweeney", calling it "hilarious". Forcella was complimentary towards "the awkward moment when his phone didn't stop ringing and [Andy] had to explain it on stage", noting that it had "brilliant timing and execution."
caption: Many critics commented upon the scene wherein Ed Helms's (pictured) character Andy checks his cellphone on stage.
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