Wolf Mankowitz’s The Bespoke Overcoat is a theatrical adaptation of The Overcoat, a short story written in 1842 by the Ukrainian-born Nikolai Gogol, who along with Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Gorky is one of the most renowned contributors to Russian literature. The one-acter’s plot seems simple enough, except that it is rendered more complex with an otherworldly dimension Mankowitz derived from the original story (what would you expect from someone who wrote Dead Souls, also written in 1842?).
Scenic designer Rich Rose’s set deftly combines the locations delineated in the play (although there is no samovar, alas!), which takes place in London’s East End at some unspecified time in the early to mid-20th century. Fender (a cherubic Harry Herman) is an aging Russian émigré Jew and shipping clerk, who has worked decades for a family business at a desk located on stage right, in front of racks and racks of overcoats. Despite the expertise he has accumulated over the years, Fender has little pay and even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield to show for his lifelong labors.