Andy's Play

"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 (Ed Helms) 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 (Ellie Kemper). While Michael Scott (Steve Carell) struggles to put his jealousy aside, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) 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. "Andy's Play" was viewed by 6.95 million viewers and received a 3.5 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49, marking a slight drop in the ratings when compared to the previous week. Despite this, the episode was the highest-ranked NBC series of the night and received positive reviews from critics.