A Show Note from Director Eliza Woodyard

Welcome back!

It is a joy to have you with us for Dana Kaufman’s Diary of a Madman. Whether you are with us at 18th and Union or joining from the comfort of your home, we are thrilled to share this musical world with you.

Diary Of A Madman is musically complex and dramatically boundary-pushing. The original short story by Nikolai Gogol continues to be renowned for its excellent first- person depiction of mental illness. Aksentiy Ivanovich Poprishchin, the titular “madman,” is living with what we now understand to be undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia in St. Petersburg. We see Poprishchin’s increasingly erratic behavior, his chilling obsession with Sahfee, the daughter of his boss, and his increased inability to function in his workplace. We also see his confusion and terror, the cruelty and ineptitude of his direct supervisor, and society’s lack of care for his obvious fear, isolation, and distress. Poprishschin lives alone in his world, slipping between reality and paranoid delusion. From society’s standpoint, he is a problem first and a valued citizen second.

Poprishchin’s story is a worst-case scenario of untreated mental illness. It is also about community responsibility toward caring for mental illness and those like Sahfee whose lives are altered by it. There have been many forward strides in mental health justice, care, and advocacy since 1830s St. Petersburg. But we still have a long way to go.


How would we relate to Poprishchin now? How might we care for him if he were a family member? In a better world would Sahfee receive stronger protection before the events in this opera? How could a workplace support an employee in crisis? Diary of a Madman invites you to ponder these questions. What would you do differently? How can we all do better together?

Our cast and creative team are thrilled to be performing live for you after long months of absence from the stage. Performance is our passion, but the magic comes from our connection with you, the audience. Thank you.