Your Chicago Guide’s tickets for two for the press viewing of Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin courtesy of A Red Orchid Theatre.
Set in the early days of the Soviet Union, in a neglected part of the Kremlin, Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin follows two actors as they prepare for their most significant role yet: Joseph Stalin. The play offers a fictional narrative inspired by the real lives of Alexei Dikiy and Felix Dadaev, two of Stalin’s body doubles.
When Soso is left for dead on the Eastern Front, he’s taken in by the Kremlin due to his shocking resemblance to a certain someone. Koba is tasked with training him to perform the role of a lifetime: Stalin’s body double. While Soso is a performer, trained to dance, juggle, and tour the countryside entertaining peasants, Koba is an actor’s actor, a student of Stanislavski himself (maybe you’ve heard of his system?), committed to the pursuit of perezhivanie: experiencing a character’s reality. Together, the doubles prepare for the Conference at Tehran, when three so-called Great Men (or were they merely players?) decided the fate of the 20th century.
Based on an incredible true-life story of Felix “Rashid” Dadaev, Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin recounts the events of arguably one of the most powerful and terrifying 20th century dictators as seen through the eyes of his body double, Soso. For the uninitiated, Soso was Stalin’s childhood nickname. Stalin understood that the very idea of his presence – and the fear of it – was more important than his actual presence. It may have been the reasoning that led him to seek the services of a dancer and juggler from Dagestan, Felix Dadaev.
Dadaev was declared dead in the war, to the world and to his own family. Incredibly or perhaps unsurprisingly under the circumstances, he held on to that secret until Stalin’s death in 1953. It was then that Felix signed an NDA, and his silence continued until 2008, the year Putin himself released Felix from that non-disclosure. Still alive at present, aged 102 years old, Felix Dadaev wrote his autobiography in 2008 (at age 88), revealing himself as one of at least four Stalin’s body doubles, “Rashid.” Paranoid as most dictators tend to be about his own safety, Stalin had several look-alikes in his service, Dadaev being the dead ringer for the Soviet leader despite 40-year age difference.
A Red Orchid Theatre’s Chicago premiere of Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin, a play by Diane Nora, is an existentialist dark comedy that tells the story of unlikely partners brought together by fate, or something altogether more sinister. The play orchestrates a surreal exploration of power, identity, and absurdity. Driven by the powerful performances from Esteban Andres Cruz (as Soso) and John Judd (as Koba), the production delivers a striking blend of satire and drama, anchored by stellar performances and provocative themes that stay with the audience long after the curtain falls.
As history tends to repeat itself, the play is both timely and terrifying, providing a glimpse into the mind of a cold-blooded dictator. The heavy message is shrouded with a hint of humor, though perhaps not entirely enough to make the viewer comfortable. That discomfort is much needed, if we are honest. As the audience, we need to see the chaos, fear, and deterioration. It’s meant to be a wakeup call.
Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin is currently on stage through June 22, 2025, at A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 North Wells Street, in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. For tickets contact the box office at (312) 943-8722 or click here.