WTAMU’s first production of the spring semester, “The Government Inspector,” started on Feb. 21 at the Branding Iron Theatre. Each semester, the theatre switches off between comedy and drama. This particular production is a comedy written by Nikolai Gogol. The play was adapted by Jeffery Hatcher and was directed by Royal Brantley.

“We expected [the play to be] a mystery,” Maddy Sander, a freshman in Music Theater, said.

In Imperial Russia of 1839, the mayor of a small town receives notice that there is an inspector from St. Petersburg that has been in town for a week. The mayor franticly sends out for the most influential people throughout the community to try and skew the inspector’s view of the town. Hijinks and shenanigans ensue.

All the while, the inspector feels worthless and has no reason to live. The mayor then bursts into the inspector’s room at the local Inn, where he introduces himself and they agree upon a mutual bribery. Throughout the play, the townspeople also become part of the conspiracy. The production wraps up with a twist in the end that would surprise the theatregoer.

“When I first read the script, I loved it,” Brantley, professor of Art, Theatre and Dance, said.

The play was written as though it was being seen through Gogol’s eyes. Brantley showcased the play based on human foolishness and was by highlighted the absence of doors and use of the art of slow motion acting during particular scenes.

“I think the play is unusual and funny,” Doris Middlebrooke, the grandfather of actress Allison Simpson, said.