Is He Dead? is a play by Mark Twain. Written by Twain in 1898,
Playwright, David Ives adapted the play for the modern stage before its inaugural performance in 2007.
The play focuses on a fictional version of the great French painter Jean-François Millet as an impoverished artist in Barbizon, France who, with the help of his colleagues, stages his death in order to increase the value of his paintings, and afterwards dresses as a woman to keep his secret safe.
Combining elements of burlesque, farce, and social satire, the comedy relies on such devices as cross-dressing, mistaken identities, and romantic deceptions to tell its story, which raises questions about fame, greed, and the value of art.
The play is similar to the short story "Is He Living, or Is He Dead?", also by Mark Twain.
