Akaky is a painfully ordinary man. From his occupation as a letter copier to his small, empty apartment in a nondescript city in the mid-twentieth century, Akaky is a demonstration of the everyman. He covets nothing but his work--menial labor in which he takes the utmost pride. But when his shabby, threadbare overcoat begins drawing the thuggish attention of his co-workers, Akaky dares to dream of a new coat, and longs to paint his invisible existence with a wisp of color. Triumph and tragedy find Akaky, and from him we bare witness to mankind’s struggle to not simply survive, but to live.
Thespian Troupe #98’s The Overcoat is a silent adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s 1842 short story of the same name. Set to the music of Vitamin String Quartet amidst a crumbling stage, FM’s theater students spin a wordless tale the likes of which you have never seen.