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Packer presented Nikolai Gogol's satirical comedy The Government Inspector Thursday, November 1 through Saturday, November 3, 2108. The production featured an Upper School cast and live music composed by Jonah Sollins Devlin ’19.
Gogol’s masterpiece of political satire may be approaching its 200th anniversary, but the messages it coveys are still shockingly contemporary. This play, despite all of its farce, romance, and outright humor, is more applicable to our world’s current political climate than it has been in decades. In this era of ‘fake news’ and the ability for false information to reach the masses in a matter of milliseconds, the miscommunications which set off this show’s plot are all too believable. In this era of violence, political corruption, and international meddling, and increasing institutionalized global prejudice, the Governor’s disenfranchisement of the merchants and Khlestakov’s prophecy that ‘they’ll all make way for you, Russia’ strikes at an ugly, modern truth. In this era, in this country, in this town, and in this school, the theatre is invaluable.”—Josh Wittstein ’19, playing Osip in this production
View the performance.
See highlights from the show below.
If the photo gallery does not appear below, view this story in our Performing Arts Showcase. In addition, hundreds of additional photos are available to members of the Packer community:The Nest (scroll down to Resources > Packer Photos on Flickr) • Faculty/Staff Portal (Resources>Communications>Access Packer Photography) • Student Portal (Click Packer on Flickr button in right column)
