Suppose you are going to get your seasonal flu shot. If so, you might also want to see "The Outsider" (2015) now running at Act II Playhouse in Ambler to inoculate yourself against our toxic presidential election. In the hands of director Andrew Chown, the show is a delightful satire of America's self-destructive disdain for professional politicians.

When a sex scandal forces the elected governor from office, Ned Newly inherits his seat. But the lieutenant governor is terrified to speak in public, and his political team agonizes over Ned's dismal five-minute television introduction where he could not talk.

The governor's entire staff left office with him. Only Ned's chief of staff, Dave Reilly, remains to guide him. Dave hires pollster Paige Caldwell to help develop a plan to overcome Ned's disastrous introduction to the public. Her polling shows the overwhelming majority of the electorate finds Ned Newly incompetent to be governor, leading to demands for a special election.

When they leave the governor's office, we finally meet Ned Newly. As lieutenant governor, he was the policy wonk in the previous administration. The last governor presented a good front, but Ned was the brains behind the scenes who understood how the government worked.

Yet Ned is terrified of the spotlight, and John Zak's performance is key to the show's success. He sneaks into his own office like a thief afraid to be seen. Zak eerily resembles Oliver Laurel from the old Laurel and Hardy comedy team, an endearing child-like person who reminds you of your moments of vulnerability.

Sabrina Profitt complements Zak's comedic flair. She plays Louise Peakes, a temp worker so inept she never held a job for more than one day. Louise cannot figure out how to use the telephone intercom system. But she intrudes into every office situation with airhead amiability.

Humor spikes with the arrival of Arthur Lance, a notorious kingmaker. After watching Ned's bumbling performance on television Arthur thinks he has discovered the ideal candidate for the modern era. He uses his insider power to pressure Rachel, a journalist, to feed Ned softball questions during a television interview.  

In preparation, Arthur gives tongue-tied Ned four statements to memorize to answer all questions: “It needs fixing,” common sense or an outsider. His big stopper is "I'm just an average guy." Peter Bisgaier plays Arthur as an amusing hodgepodge, a pushy operative with the enthusiasm of a kid opening his toys on Christmas morning.

The satire deepens when Louise bursts into the room. An obvious reference to Sarah Palin, she captures the reporter's attention by being her bubbly self. When she confuses "executive assistant" with "assistant executive," Louise gives Rachel the impression that she has been selected to become the new lieutenant governor.

Dave and Paige agonize over this new debacle. But Arthur disagrees. He gushes, "Ned and Lulu are a match made in heaven."  He further explains that people want a candidate they can relate to. When that candidate shows ignorance and indifference to the knowledge of how government works, it matches the public's disdain. Arthur exalts, "That's democracy!"

Rejuvenated Arthur now coaches Louise for her television interview. He gives her a half dozen colored cards and assigns them different values. For example, the yellow card is cheerfulness, the blue card is patriotism and the purple one is a troubled concern. Arthur stands in the shadows and holds up successive cards.

The interview is a hilarious scene. Arthur rifles through the cards at a brisk clip. Louise answers every question with the aplomb of someone playing a party game. She winds up giving a chirpy, cliched speech. The scary point is that you have heard hundreds of speeches exactly like it.  Louise says, "If I knew politics was saying whatever popped into your head I would have gotten into politics long ago."

Playwright Paul Slade Smith tries to mute his satire. Dave (Carl Nathaniel Smith) and Rachel (Hannah Parke) are idealists who find Arthur's cynicism abhorrent. Smith tosses in a budding romance but does not give enough development to make it believable. Likewise, Paige (Liz Mattera) starts as a jaded professional fixated on winning. You enjoy watching her strut about the stage like she owned it. But her eleventh-hour conversion to idealism seems out of character.

Smith's handling of Ned is a tad more convincing. Ned discusses politics with cameraman James (A.C. Peterson), an everyman character who thinks government is worthless. Under Dave's guidance, Ned finds his voice and returns to his wonky self, giving a public speech to affirm the need for good government.

But what stays with you is the ease with which Arthur plays with an irritable and complacent public. "The Outsider" was written in 2015 and references the politics of its time. With the ensuing triumph of buffoonish showmanship in our politics, "The Outsider" now seems prescient.

"The Outsider" will run through Nov 10. Tickets available at 215-654-0200. Act II Playhouse is at 56 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler.