On Oct. 27, Peddie opened The Government Inspector at the William Mount-Burke Theater.

The Government Inspector takes place in a tiny, unnamed Russian town where the corrupt officials, among them the Mayor Anton Antonovich (Nicholas Massenburg ’17), run amok. When they become aware of the presence of an incognito government inspector, they are prepared to pay any cost to avoid discovery. Enter Ivan Alexandreyevich Hlestakov (John Haines ’17), a hedonistic but broke traveler, who is mystified when he finds himself being offered enticements, including the mayor’s wife (Marissa Michaels ’17) and daughter (Micah Patt ’17). The story unfolds further through a mix of puns, farce, and overall zaniness, to create a thrilling comedy with a twist, holding audience’s attention to the very end.

But how did the production come together? A lot of credit is due to the cast, whose performance was admirable. In addition, the success can also be attributed to the crew. In The Government Inspector, the set played an important role, helping to add further character to the production.

The set crew, this year composed of fourteen students and overseen by technical director John Lucs, had the principal job of “setting the stage” for the play to begin. The set in this year’s play was composed of several parts, including a backdrop with a detail of the town, building facades, and furniture. The background was painted bright blue, and many movable parts of the set were similarly colorful. The scenery for The Government Inspector was distinctive due to the set crew’s innovative ability to “utilize the Fab Lab’s laser cutting system to replicate in a large quantity the intricate roofline and wall detail designs perfectly,” Lucs said.

“The set is probably one of the most important parts, and the most time consuming part,” said set crew member Abigail Yaffe ’18 when asked about the set’s role in the production. “We build the set…pretty much everything… we painted the stage, cut the wood, put [it] together… we also run the show; that’s considered run crew… they’re in charge of lighting cues and sound cues for the actors.”

The combined efforts of the cast and crew resulted in the play presented last weekend, which was well received by opening night.

“I really liked the set, it was beautiful…and the clear windows in the back made it more interesting, because you could see them chasing each other around the stage…and the play in general was just wonderful, very funny,” Glen Yin ’17 said.