A Comedy on the Docket

Reported by Ana Imes

Need a laugh? The fall comedy is showing on Oct. 18-20, 25-27 and 28 in Wood-Mar Auditorium. The Thursday performances are free to George Fox University (GFU) students. Go support your student actors and crew members in “The Government Inspector,” a play adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from “Revizor” by Nikolai Gogol.

According to Stage Manager Brooke Larson, “The Government Inspector is a farce that tells the story of a small provincial town in 1830's Russia. The Mayor (Trevor Braskamp)… hears the news that the imperial government has sent an inspector to the town to investigate corruption. He and his cast of corrupt officials… try to win him over with various bribes and persuasive techniques. Naturally, chaos ensues.”

Lauren Vander Aarde is in the role of the Mayor’s wife, a power-hungry character who uses coy seduction to get what she wants.

“I think there is something for everyone in this show,” Aarde said. Although the show “would be rated PG-13…. people should come see it because even though it is about a little town in Russia, there are many parallels with events occurring in our government for both political parties,” Aarde explained.

Elyse Bradford said she plays three “angry, slightly flirty peasants…. each with their own bone to pick with the mayor of the city. This show appeals to everybody.”  

“Every single character is hilarious…. whether in innocence, absurdity, or vulgarity,” Bradford said.

“The physical comedy and the wit in the dialogue keep you laughing throughout the show,” Larson said. However, she also explained that the show is well-balanced and isn’t just for laughs.

“There are moments where the characters have these asides (directly speaking to the audience) that pack a pretty powerful punch to the folly of humanity,” she said. She and the director, Rhett Luedtke, want the audience to think deeply about the play afterward in order to understand it better.

“If the audience walks out laughing and thinking deeper about some of the issues we touched on, then we've done our jobs as artists,” Larson said.