The Government Inspector, Going for All the Laughs
The cast is set, tickets are on sale, and UMass Boston Performing Arts is countdown mode to one of the funniest plays. The Government Inspector, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the original by Nikolai Gogol, opens in the University Hall Theatre on March 29 for seven shows through April 8.
“ I love this play. The dialogue is fast and hilarious, and the situations are ridiculous. -- Michael Fennimore ”
Director Michael Fennimore has been looking forward to directing this piece for several years, fully prepared to work with a cast of 13 to do – simply put – anything for a laugh.
TIckets now on sale at umb.universitytickets.com
“Physical humor, mistaken identity, breaking the fourth wall – everything is on the table,” Fennimore said. “I love this play. The dialogue is fast and hilarious, and the situations are ridiculous. We’re going to have a blast.”
Gogol’s The Government Inspector was written in 1830’s Russia but is still widely regarded as among the funniest plays ever written. Directors have been known to weave in recognizable comedic devices from The Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, all of which work since The Government Inspector influenced all of them.
“The basic plot is that there’s a small town full of corrupt officials who hear a rumor that Moscow is sending the Government Inspector to investigate them and send them to Siberia,” said Fennimore. “Meanwhile, a stranger shows up and the town believes he’s the inspector, but is he? The town’s foolish behavior will ensure that the audiences have the last laugh.”
Tickets are on sale now at umb.universitytickets.com, with shows March 29, 30, 31, April 6, and 7 at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. Matinees on April 1 and 8. Students and Alumni tickets, $12, General Public $17. Tickets available at umb.universitytickets.com
The cast includes:
Jesus Rodriguez as Hlestakov
Amaya Levens as Osip/Postmaster
Bobby Lovett as Mayor Anton Antonovich
Samantha Stanley as Anna Andreyevna
Anna Pumphry as Marya Antonovna
Jes Boyajianas as Grusha/Waitress /Locksmith’s Wife
Aidan Butler as Hospital Director/Chernyaeyev
Jack Roussel as School Principal/Pentelaeyev
Shelby Gagne as The Doctor
Lexxie Rowell as the Judge/Abdullin
Nakatto Nassozi as Innkeeper’s Wife/Svetsunov/Imperial Messenger
Meghan Geslin as Dobchinsky
Melisa Cepeda as Bobchinsky
With understudies Wilder Cerrate and Lucy Rogers