The Government Inspector
Closed 2h 0m
The Government Inspector
83

The Government Inspector NYC Reviews and Tickets

83%
(280 Ratings)
Positive
91%
Mixed
8%
Negative
1%
Members say
Funny, Entertaining, Great acting, Delightful, Clever

About the Show

Red Bull Theater presents an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s deeply silly satire of small-town corruption. A riotous portrait of rampaging self-delusion starring Michael Urie ('Buyer & Cellar,' 'Ugly Betty').

Read more Show less

Show-Score Member Reviews (280)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
305 Reviews | 60 Followers
90
Delightful, Entertaining, Great acting, Hilarious, Relevant

See it if you want to see a brilliant cast especially the fantastic Michael Urie perform an updated Russian classic to perfection with perfect timing,

Don't see it if you don't enjoy updated Russian classic plays that are still so relevant to today's government situations.

140 Reviews | 24 Followers
90
Clever, Delightful, Hilarious, Refreshing, Entertaining

See it if You like to laugh nonstop. This is a zany version of a Russian play making fun of incompetent government officials.

Don't see it if You don't enjoy political satire.

247 Reviews | 41 Followers
90
Clever, Funny, Great acting, Intelligent, Relevant

See it if you like great acting and broad comedy that is as relevant today as when it was written 175 years ago

Don't see it if you don't like broad physical comedy

147 Reviews | 39 Followers
90
Smart, Fast-paced, Funny, Great staging, Terrific performances

See it if Highly recommended for concept, content, and fast-paced fun. A great combination of wit and slapstick. Very well played.

Don't see it if If rapid-fire delivery is not your thing, and if you're looking for something politically topical and meaningful.

94 Reviews | 64 Followers
90
Clever, Delightful, Great acting, Hilarious, Great staging

See it if you are a fan of the amazing Michael Urie, and appreciate farce. Entire cast is first rate, the set is creative and the script is brilliant.

Don't see it if you're not ready for laughter based on idiocy of local governments translated to high - level farce, or didn't like Buyer & Celler's M Urie.

154 Reviews | 31 Followers
90
Hilarious, Delightful, Entertaining

See it if you want to have a good laugh.fabulous cast that move at breakneck speed delivering hilarious lines that were written in 1836 but relevant .

Don't see it if don't enjoy old Russian plays. Read more

159 Reviews | 33 Followers
90
Delightful, Hilarious, Intelligent, Thought-provoking, Great acting

See it if you enjoy a succession of side-splitting scenes, silly hilarity, adept physical comedy, Michael Urie, satire of human frailty & corruption.

Don't see it if you don't like: political satire, physical comedy, "silly" scenes that say a lot human frailty, Michael Urie, laughing every few seconds.

464 Reviews | 190 Followers
90
Fun-frolick, Great acting, Entertaining, Dizzying, Intelligent humor

See it if you prefer your (semi-dated, semi-still-relevant) social commentary served up slapstick and screwball style, with a Russian influence.

Don't see it if you dislike humorous, sometimes-silly, physical comedies; require more modernized, edgy works; dislike works like The Play that Goes Wrong. Read more

Critic Reviews (47)

Broadway & Me
June 17th, 2017

"Hatcher has crafted an adaptation that's a bit too contemporary for my taste but I totally appreciate how director Jesse Berger has shamelessly plagiarized the playbooks of comic geniuses to squeeze every single laugh out of it...He's aided by a brilliant cast of clowns...We in the audience are most indebted to the always-appealing Urie, who is as adept at physical comedy as he is with a one-liner...The other 10 cast members, all masters of comedic timing, are funny as hell too."
Read more

C
July 25th, 2017

“Madcap, zany and high comedic exhilaration...Hatcher’s writing makes this production so completely sumptuous, you will want to feed on it again and catch a second time the artful ironies and slick phrases…Without this ensemble, the jokes would scintillate but not with the power to strike as hard and send us as furiously as they do into the comic heavenlies…Urie has stretched his talents to new heights. He is reminiscent of some of the comic greats...Something truly wonderful and riotous.”
Read more

The Huffington Post
June 2nd, 2017

"Berger’s amiable, too-soft revival of "The Government Inspector' remains this side of great, despite some strong lead actors and a classic text...An essential tension, the desperation that drives the best comedy is lacking here. Quite simply, the cast is having too much fun...Michael Urie is an appealing center to this storm...Mary Testa is simply too good to ever not be funny...Most everyone else, however, fades into the background."
Read more

This Week in New York
June 2nd, 2017

"Hatcher’s adaptation never misses an opportunity to capitalize on a bad pun or raunchy joke...Hatcher and Berger keep the jokes and gags flying at warp speed over two hours; some are repetitive or fall flat, but the vast majority hit their targets...McGrath and Urie lead the charge in Tilly Grimes’ fab costumes...In today’s exhausting world, 'The Government Inspector' is just the thing to rid us of those fits of melancholy we all experience from time to time, perhaps more often of late."
Read more

The Huffington Post
July 24th, 2017

"A snappy production…The farce hits its mark, while making a larger statement about the systemic nature of institutional greed and incompetence…Director Jessie Berger has assembled an excellent ensemble that delivers Gogol’s satiric slam at governmental fraud with glee…Urie is sensational…Indeed, the cast, like Alexis Distler’s sets and Tilly Grimes’ costumes, hits exactly the right note: fast and furious.”
Read more

TheaterScene.com
June 3rd, 2017

"A rollicking good time. You just have to forget our current imbroglios in Washington, and turn yourself over to Red Bull Theater’s exuberant mounting...Berger demonstrates a grand flair for comedy in his appropriate anything-for-a-laugh staging. The approach is made valid by his 14-person cast loaded with superlative farceurs...To be sure, not every comic bit is a side-splitter...But the bits come so thick and fast, you don’t have time to ponder the misfires."
Read more

DC Metro Theater Arts
June 10th, 2017

"Hatcher’s adaptation is fluid and well plotted, but only now and then hits the mark when aiming at genuine wit...Now and then a zinger will fly, and when it does, the audience is there for him. The evening works because it is being played by three of the best comic actors we have. Urie has found a role which allows his major gift for comedy to flourish...It is the incredible comic ability of the three male principals and most of the ensemble that lifts it into a show that is well worth seeing."
Read more

scribicide
June 5th, 2017

"From its thunderclap opening moment to its smash-cut-to-black final line, this is a tightly choreographed, high-energy circus of bloated egos and swaggering hot air brought into sharp focus by a game cast and a glowing adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher."
Read more