Disappearing Acts - Stories By Nikolai Gogol at Piven Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Adapter-director Stephen Fedo bats .500 in this Piven Theatre Workshop staging of Nikolai Gogol's two most famous short stories. Fedo's farcical take on "The Nose"--about a vain, low-level civil servant whose nose goes missing and then wanders about Saint Petersburg dressed as a higher-ranking clerk--turns Gogol's droll absurdity into ham-handed shtick. But with "The Overcoat," in which a government copyist's featureless life becomes edenic after he buys a new topcoat, Fedo uses a more understated approach to capture the subtleties that give Gogol's work its rich pathos and humor."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...Many playwrights have taken on the task of adapting lengthy novels into theatrical productions. It's a rare find to have short stories adapted into gems. "Overcoat" is a fantastic satirical journey into the life of bureaucracy and the thematically rich perception of status. We follow the life of Akaky Akakievich, who, as seen through his colleagues, is peering into the catechism of destitution, and teetering on the verge of senility. The complexity of Akaky is so masterfully and realistically portrayed by seasoned actor Brooks Darrah. Sam Wootten, Audre Budrys, and Matthew Goines found great detail in their work and supported not only Brooks but the story impeccably well."