Bring The Government Inspector to Your Theater

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The Government Inspector is a musical comedy based on Nikolai Gogol's 1836 play of the same name. The original was a major hit and has sometimes been called the greatest Russian comedy. 

Our new adaptation keeps the characters and main plot, but adds two love stories and a lot of music. It completed an initial collegiate run in November 2025 to sold-out crowds. Are you looking for a new play to develop? Would you like to bring it to your theater? This page contains a plot synopsis, production requirements, a script and score sample, and a musical sample. 

Provincial Russia in the time of the Tsars. Corrupt local bureaucrats mistake a common rube for an incognito government inspector intent on destroying them. A farce for the ages, rewritten as a musical in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan and Harvey Schmidt.

It's a high energy romp of mistaken identities with lots of laughs and two love stories at its heart. Cynics and softies alike will love it.

A clique of corrupt bureaucrats gleefully rule a provincial Russian town. They receive a message: “an incognito Government Inspector is headed your way. If he discovers waste, fraud, and abuse, you’ll all go to jail.” Panicked, they decide they must find this Government Inspector and roll out the red carpet. They are baddies with big songs, and they are fun to hate.

John Khlestekov is a common rube with a gambling problem. He’s on the run from creditors and is accompanied by his servant, who is secretly in love with him and is a woman disguised as man. Their love is mutual, but it’ll take the course of the play for them to realize it. They are our heroes. Their songs are tender and they are fun to love.

The baddies mistake John and his servant for the Government Inspectors. The baddies wine and dine them and attempt to bribe John, who perceives their friendliness as genuine and their bribes as gifts. But John’s more streetwise servant knows better, and she bilks the bilkers.

Meanwhile, two love stories develop: the one between John and his servant, and another between Maria (the Mayor’s daughter) and her childhood friend (who is now a valet to her father). The Mayor offers Maria as a bride (and bribe) to John and orders a wedding for that night. The Mayor tells his valet (who is in love with Maria) and John’s servant (who is in love with John) to plan the wedding. 

You might think things go crazy here and you are right. The bride and groom and wedding planners are completely mismatched! The audience watches a manic wedding planning session (scored to Russian dance songs), near misses, self-discoveries, and, ultimately, a touching double wedding between the good guys and a satisfying last-minute downfall of the bad guys.

Running time: about 110 minutes.

Casting: 9M, 7F (with room for cross-gender casting, double-casting, and no requirements on age or ethnicity)

Set: Most of the action takes place in one great room. A brief scene in an Inn may be built separately or accomplished with a small bed and lights.

Musicians: One piano player minimum. Percussion and bass improves the sound. An accordion and/or strings can bring out the Russian flavor.

Andy Mangin is a director, set designer, and professor at Wheaton College. He founded the very-successful Wheaton Shakespeare Festival, at which he continues to direct. He holds an MFA from Southern Methodist University.
 

Jeff Takacs is a writer, musician, and actor who has written and performed in many productions by New York's Company XIV. Film and television credits include the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, the Cinemax production Girls Guide to Depravity, and more. He holds an MFA from University of California, Irvine. Takacs writes the substack Houndstooth of Love.

“Is the play politically or otherwise didactic?” No.

“Is it melodramatic and mustache-twirling?” Yes!

“Will I tap my toes and remember the songs?” Yes!

“What will the audience say as they leave the theater?” The writers thank you for asking. Based on the tryout run of the show, the unmarried theatergoers will marry each other and everyone will join the platinum circle.

"The characters of Dobchinsky and Maria might be...my favorite characters in the play, and without a doubt my favorite relationship...their relationship is so tied to naming each other, most often after famous lovers in history or books. It is a game they play, not realizing the depth of it until, close to the end, Dobchinsky doesn't participate when Maria names him. That is the moment when Maria realizes something is different, and she doesn't want that to change. Naming gives us permission to love. It is always part of the act of loving someone." - M.S.

Contact Jeff Takacs or Andy Mangin at...