One Joseph Stalin was one too many. The new play now at A Red Orchid Theatre is about the existential angst that flows from an acting role only a Soviet apparatchik could truly love: standing in for a murderous dictator with myriad enemies.

Apparently, there were at least four Stalin doubles in reality, all employed to throw off those who might do harm to the main man. Much work went into their preparation (hair, weight, mannerisms, gait and so on), to ensure the physical likeness was as deceptive as possible. The gig was hazardous and the run could be brief: At least one of the fake Stalins was killed by a roadside bomb as his cortege was passing Red Square.

In “Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin,” playwright Dianne Nora imagines a training session for one of those doubles, with chara

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