Sophomore Director Michael Gaare and his motley cast of mixed backgrounds, limited theatrical experience and stage presence ranging from zero to over-the-top have pulled together a modern interpretation of Jean-Baptiste Moliere’s play Tartuffe that focuses on farce without forgetting its social and political import.
In this satire of religious hypocrisy, Tartuffe’s title character ingratiates himself to Orgon with his faux piety, and almost succeeds in seducing Orgon’s wife while at the same time disinheriting his children before the play is done.
For this modernized production, though, the actors relate themselves self-consciously to our televised culture. Tartuffe is likened to a televangelist. And the king – represented by a forebodingly iconic picture on the wall of Orgon’s home – is George W. Bush. One might accordingly be reminded that situational comedy finds its origins in farce.
The religious extremism in the play is mirrored by its characters’ tendencies toward extreme judgements. Quick black-and-white decisions get everyone in trouble. With the President’s face mockingly smiling down over it all, one can’t help but wonder why the U.S. government also sees no need for careful thinking and moderate action in a time of extremism. The production begs the audience to make the connection that President Bush, like his parallel character in Tartuffe, preys on the emotional vulnerability of a frightened nation.
So give the director points for boldness: Gaare chose a difficult play with which to make his directorial debut, and his production is both gutsy and commendable.
Gaare’s version calls attention to Tartuffe’s theme of emotional manipulation, and to human beings’ choice between falling prey to it or building up walls against it. Orgon’s wise brother Cleante preaches balance and moderation – two powerful themes for our modern world.
Moreover, Moliere wrote this witty play in strict rhyming couplets – a difficult form to speak, much less act. The cast began with a recent translation by Illinois actor Tim Mooney, who has translated more than a dozen of Moliere’s plays.
Although the Mooney translation was conceived as a period piece, Gaare puts his cast in modern dress. By likening his Tartuffe to the modern American social and political climate, Gaare risks “artistic integrity” to expose the play’s potential relevance to a modern audience.
This further translation from the original – from French to English to the twenty-first century – brings out the creativity of these amateur actors. Gaare felt as though the modern approach allowed the actors to resist the temptation to “act classically.”
Roberts said, “He encouraged us to experiment.” It certainly worked to muster a high level of commitment and creativity among the cast, enabling the audience to invest in the story as well.
But instead of the director and actors shaping the text, it is Moliere who controls the action, and the players struggle to keep up with his wordy wit. As Damis proclaimed in reference to Tartuffe’s control over his father: “For too long now the tail has wagged the dog.” The same might be said of this production, but there were many moments of comedy.
Although Senior Sam Schreiber as Tartuffe lacks the charisma of one likely to ensnare anyone in his deceit, his baffling control over Orgon is more than slightly reminiscent of Bush’s baffling control over the nation.
Also of note is the well cast Dorine, the scheming maid who makes herself crucial to every inch of the plot. Sophomore Whitney Laucks (seen last week in City of Angels) is smart and sassy – handling both language and laughs with ease in this key role.
The sound design is also a highlight. Stage manager and TIMARA major Eric Barker, who called the cues in the balcony from his blueberry iBook, interweaves cleverly pompous musical allusions with the text, creating moments of tableau and providing welcome musical interludes to Moliere’s profuse poetics.
If these moments were crude or ill-timed, they matched the set and even the setting (Wilder Main is still Oberlin’s shoddy substitute for a real theater) and did not detract – the play is meddling comedy at its best.
Wilder Main. Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8 p.m. Tickets are $1 at Wilder desk.