BWW Reviews: THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR from Belmont University Theatre

There must be something in the water on campus at Nashville's Belmont University – sure, the theatre and musical theatre faculty's skills are virtually unparalleled, but it's the talent, the quality and the devotion to their craft of the students that truly boggles the mind and is worthy of unbridled and enthusiastic acclaim. You'd have to search far and wide for a more impressive group of student actors who, with director James Al-Shamma's staging of The Government Inspector, have once again proven themselves equal to any theatrical challenge.

Who knew that a play, which premiered in 1836, could be so compellingly presented, so beautifully acted and so refreshingly entertaining? Written by Nikolai Gogol, The Government Inspector was originally censored because of its trenchant comments on the realities of life in Tsarist Russia, only to have Tsar Nicholas I himself intercede on behalf of the playwright; after seeing the play, the Tsar reportedly conceded that the joke, indeed, was on him.

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher (who wrote the stage adaptation of Miss Nelson is Missing and co-wrote the stage version of Tuesdays With Morrie, as well as the screenplays for The Duchess and Casanova – talk about a wide-ranging resume) and first performed at The Guthrie Theatre, this cleverly written update proudly puts all manner of anachronisms on display that instantly draws younger, more contemporary, audiences into its plot while at the same time ensuring the play's timeless qualities evoke all sorts of comparisons to modern-day events, making it appeal to audiences older, wiser and more worldly (like me – and most likely you – for example). And it's scathingly funny!

Al-Shamma's artistic vision for the production is felt throughout, drawing inspiration from post-modernism, steampunk (combining Victorian fashion with punk, a la the musical Spring Awakening), social networking and omnipresent media to effectively draw a picture of the societal inequities prevalent in Tsarist Russia while underscoring it with contemporary references in a present-day vernacular. Performed by an excellent cast (it's a virtual who's who of Belmont thespians), under Al-Shamma's deft directorial hand, The Government Inspector is wildly entertaining, while provocative - not just for the sake of being provocative, but rather for all the right reasons: most importantly, to provoke thoughtful consideration of the themes represented in Hatcher's script.

In Hatcher's adaptation, as in Gogol's original satire, life in a far-flung Russian town is upended by the surprise and imminent arrival of a government inspector sent by the Tsar on some unknown and therefore, frightening and potentially unsettling (as in, pack up everything and get the hell out of town), assignment. The town is rife with corruption – with bribery and greed overriding any sense of service or goodwill – and when the town's mayor learns of the inspector's supposed arrival, all hell (both literally and figuratively) breaks loose. The town's inhabitants, their imaginations run amok, make a faulty rush to judgment, all the while elevating wild innuendo and crippling supposition to mordant fact.

The town is peopled, primarily, by idiots and ne'er-do-wells, civil servants ensconced for years, despicable merchants and low-level bureaucrats, all out to ensure their own survival in the wake of whatever edict the government inspector relays from the head office in St. Petersburg. And in Tsarist Russia something truly awful is not far from the realm of possibility (serfdom didn't end until the late 1860s, some 30 years after Gogol's play debuted, so no wonder his outlook is so bleak), which coupled with bitter winters, crippling work and scant hope provide a potent cocktail for the town's drunk-with-hysteria atmosphere.

So it is to be expected that whenever an arrogant stranger arrives in town that he is taken to be the expected inspector even if there is little, if any, evidence to back up the claim. When Hlestakov (played with appropriately smarmy charm and a soupcon of superiority by Christy White – Al-Shamma casts some women as men, some men as women with a blend of theatricality and business-like acumen for what works best in telling the story onstage – who delivers a tour de force performance that somehow blends subtlety with the broad strokes in near-perfect pitch) realizes how lucky he is to be in the midst of these gullible suckers, he decides to play along and to accept the townspeople's largesse and generosity, however obligatory and pained, with delight.

Zack McCann, one of the best younger actors anywhere, shines as the Mayor, providing a blustery, boastful characterization that is richly shaded, while superbly nuanced. And while the performances of both McCann and White are truly exemplary, they are only two parts of the exceptional ensemble charged with bringing this rather farcical, yet biting, satire to life.

Among a cast of actors seemingly destined for bright futures, Lindsay Phillpott and Adrienne Hall very nearly steal the show out from under their castmates with their impressive turns as the somewhat moronic Dobchinksy and Bobchinsky, repectively. Looking for all the world like a pair of Kewpie dolls grown to adulthood, lisping every line (which are delivered with impeccable timing) and being somewhat reminiscent of that tree-dwelling, toothless creature in Deliverance, Phillpott and Hall deliver the goods.

Kyla Lowder is ideally cast as Osip, Hlestakov's servant (even bald, wrinkled and gray, Lowder's beauty can be seen beneath the greasepaint), imparting wisdom and witticisms with ease, dripping with cynicism. Meredith Locke is terrific as the mayor's randy wife, hoping to cuckold her husband with the fake inspector even while trying to marry her daughter (played with a certain sullen grace and definite offbeat beauty by an assured Miles Gatrell) off to him.

JP Cheek does excellent work as the town's judge, with Mary Cullen Pennington delivering a strong performance as the hospital's director and Gina D'Arco delightful as the school principal. Ben Stonick confidently commands the stage with his portrayal of the town's fey, foul-smelling and gossipy postmaster, while Hayley Rose (great as the mostly silent doctor from abroad), Luke Hatmaker (well-cast as Svetsunov, the town's corrupt police chief), Sarah Edwards (amusing as a cynical waitress) and Amanda Cutrona (in a wonderful turn as the innkeeper's pregnant wife) practically demanding attention with their skilled performances.

Yet every member of the cast is worthy of attention, so kudos to Kylie Disher, Mason Sullivan, Heather Liddington, Gabrielle McAndrew, Matthew Rosenbaum, Tyler Henry, Blair Allison, Caroline Barnard and Kallen Prosterman for their notable contributions.

Don Griffiths' set design provides the perfect physical setting for the play's action, while Liz Mosiman's lighting design pefectly illuminates the various scenes and Christy White and Kyla Lowder's costume design captures Al-Shamma's aesthetic with style.

- The Government Inspector. By Nikolai Gogol, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher. Directed by James Al-Shamma. Presented by Belmont University's Department of Theatre and Dance at the Troutt Theatre's Black Box Theatre, Nashville. Through April 17.

Pictured: Zack McCann and Christy White/photo by Rick Malkin

To post a comment, you must register and login.