‘Inspector General’ on Quality-Control Duty

John Anderson’s adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General,” about corrupt town officials who mistake a penniless fop for a government inspector, collapses two minor roles into one, giving Bruce Linser a chance to shine as a hilariously schizophrenic underling in this otherwise pedestrian production at the Hollywood Court Theatre.

Linser portrays the bickering Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky as two personas inhabiting one body. It gets pretty crowded when the fighting becomes physical, accented by some well-practiced pratfalls.

As the faux Inspector General, Michael Piscitelli is all nervous mannerisms, slightly slurred fast talk. He’s not a huckster on a roll, but a man caught up in circumstances that he simply goes along with.

Gregory Cohen’s direction pushes the actors toward histrionics, and his staging sometimes allows actors’ faces to be obscured during important sequences. The audience doesn’t get a full view of Piscitelli’s face as he slowly comprehends the mistake that’s being made and its possibilities.

Kerry Muir and Georgia Treharne as mother and daughter, respectively, are more excessively reactive than the rest of the cast. They also look suspiciously near the same age.

The costume design by James Albright and Piscitelli lacks a uniform degree of quality; the women’s outfits are not fitted properly.

*

* “The Inspector General,” Hollywood Court Theatre, United Methodist Church, 6817 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends March 21. $15. (323) 871-2829. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.