Adapted from Nikolai Erdman’s 1928 play The Suicide, which led to the playwright’s persecution and the banning of his work under Stalin, The Glorious Death of Comrade What’s-His-Name reimagines the material for a contemporary audience. “This musical is like the lovechild of Mel Brooks and Bertolt Brecht!” says director John Christian Plummer.

The story: Semyon, an unemployed dreamer living under Stalin’s brutal rule in the Soviet Union, imagines a better life as a tuba player (despite not knowing how to play) but comes to believe that a spectacular exit from life may be his only ticket to fame and glory. When Aristarch, a revolutionary firebrand with motives less than pure, sees an opportunity in Semyon’s potential demise, he and a band of scheming misfits seize upon it as a way to spark a rebellion and topple the Communist regime.

Written by Simon Gray (Music), Raymond Bokhour (Lyrics), and David Bridel (Book).

Starring Raymond Bokhour, Douglas Goodhart, Christine Bokhour, and Maia Guest.

Running Oct. 30–Nov. 22.