Imagine a world in which greed, corruption, and extortion are the central virtues practiced by its inhabitants. Now, imagine that these virtues are merely corollaries tied together by a central, transcendent theme: Humor. As the stage lights slowly come to life in Wabash’s Ball
Theater, this is the world into which the eagerly attentive audience members find themselves thrust.
The Government Inspector, the College’s first production of the year, is a pronouncedly farcical play written by Russian Nikolai Gogol in 1836 and directed by Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater James Phillips. It is set in a small Russian town in which fraud abounds, bribery is the standard, and nothing is sacred. “It is one of Russia’s most famous plays,” Phillips said. “It uses the humor of satire to answer the question of what happens when everyone just looks after themselves.”
The play opens on a hilariously frantic Mayor, played by senior Matt Goodrich, delivering a piece of ghastly news to his officials: The arrival of an incognito government inspector is imminent! Though the information’s impact is not at first felt by the audience, the unscrupulously crooked bureaucrats are devastated. An undeniably humorous panic ensues.
It is soon brought to the attention of the Mayor that a suspicious character has taken lodging in the town; one who, it is determined, is none other than the incognito inspector himself! As the Mayor and his officials scramble to hide their insufficiencies before the inspector complains to St. Petersburg, the scene shifts to a small, lightly furnished room of an Inn within the town. Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, the charismatic conman mistakenly identified as the dreaded inspector, is introduced as the tenant of the room.
Khlestakov, played by sophomore James Morey, is, Morey emphasized, not necessarily the lead role. “I hate the word lead,” Morey said. “In a production, if everyone is not on target, it all just falls apart. I suppose the phrase central role is, to me, more appropriate. A play does usually focus itself around one or two characters, but it takes everyone, cast and crew alike, to make it work. So to me, the word lead does not define my part in the play.”
The Government Inspector is not Morey’s first involvement in a theater production put on at Wabash, but it is his first time to play the central role. He said that the experience has been absolutely terrifying, especially in the context of attempting to reconcile daily practices with the extremely stressful workload inherent in the life of students at the College.
As the plot unfolds, each of the officials, Mayor included, attempt to bribe a slightly confused Khlestakov into not issuing complaints about the atrocious state of town. Khlestakov, though, takes all in stride, leveraging his situation for all it is worth. His compelling but unprincipled persona only adds to the uproarious entertainment of the audience members. A faction of self-identified swindlers and bribe takers themselves being swindled; the irony!
Phillips said that the play is intended to poke fun at how society functions. He expounded on the allegorical nature of the production, which utilizes the characters as foils for the ideal, altruistic human being. Wabash’s single governing code, the Gentleman’s Rule, Phillips went on, is one attempt in employing this interpretation of the good in people.
“The functionality of the Gentleman’s Rule on campus is very much tied in to this play,” Phillips said. “When we watch this play, it gives us an idea of how not to act—in a way which is satirically funny. If I had to identify a moral to the story, I would say that it tells us we can’t base our decisions only on selfish considerations; we must take the needs of others into account.”
The natural drollery and ease with which the production is putinto action are deceptive to the audience members, though. From the symbolically crooked buildings of the set to the brilliant, professional- grade acting of both Morey and Goodrich, each aspect of the play falls into place only with the aid of nearly 40 cast and crew, all told. “It’s been quite a feat,” said Goodrich. “I think that everyone has made an immeasurable contribution. We’ve done very well.”
“I was surprised by the quality of theater at Wabash,” said Freshman AJ Hudson. “I think this production will take the audience members’ breath away.”
The Government Inspector opened October 8th, and will run each night at 8:00 pm until its close on the evening of the 11th. For free tickets to the production, either email requests to boxoffice@ wabash.edu or call 765-361- 6411.
Keep in mind, though, when you’re laughing (which you will be), “You are laughing at yourself.”