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CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University Russian Troupe will stage Mikhail Bulgakov’s “Half-Witted Jourdain” on April 3 and 4.

The cast consists of native Russian speakers and the crew includes students studying Russian at OSU. The show features vibrant costumes, singing and dancing and is directed by Vreneli Farber, retired OSU Russian language professor who has been staging plays in Russian since 1996. Assisting her is Svetlana Erofeeva.

Written in 1932, “Half-Witted Jourdain” is a play-within-a-play that takes place within a house in Paris. The central character of Jourdain is a middle-aged man who wants to be accepted as an aristocratic gentleman. A nobleman called Dorante has attached himself to Jourdain and flatters his aristocratic dreams to get Jourdain to pay his debts.

Jourdain also hopes to get his daughter to marry nobility, but his plans go awry when she falls for the middle-class Cléonte, who decides to disguise himself as a royal Sultan to win over the father. In the end the ruse is revealed to Jourdain, who must face the loss of his illusions.

The play will begin at 7:30 p.m. April 3 and 4 with an additional matinee scheduled for 2:30 p.m. April 4. All performances take place at the OSU Lab Theater in Withycombe Hall, 30th Street and Campus Way in Corvallis.

Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors, and free for children younger than 12.