Theater Review
The set-up is not only classic Moliere, but all too familiar to modern-day audiences. By the time we meet Tartuffe, the star of the eponymous comedy, we have no doubts as to his ‘sterling’ character. The sanctimonious man of cloth is surely too good to be true. We know only too well that the display of good works and godly behavior often camouflages a life of bad behavior. At the time Moliere wrote ‘Tartuffe’ in 1664, King Louis XIV considered the play harmless and witty, but was pressured by the church to ban it. In so doing, he explained, ‘although it was found to be extremely diverting, the king recognized so much conformity between those that a true devotion leads on the path to heaven and those that a vain ostentation of some good works does not prevent from committing some bad ones, that his extreme delicacy to religious matters can not suffer this resemblance of vice to virtue, which could be mistaken for each other; although one does not doubt the good intentions of the author, even so he forbids it in public, and deprived himself of this pleasure, in order not to allow it to be abused by others, less capable of making a just discernment of it.’ Moliere rewrote the play three times before the ban was lifted. The adaptation by Ellen Geer joins the Theatricum Botanicum’s summer repertory schedule and will run until October 1. Moliere was a master of thinly disguised satirical plays that exposed a host of societal misbehavior, all the while cleverly spoofing man’s foibles in rhyming couplets. His aim was sharp and directed at his cast of men and women, more caricatures than characters. In the Theatricum’s production, Geer and Peter Alsop have supplied a dozen ditties, accompanied by Cody Gillette on keyboard, that not only serve to give breathing room for Moliere’s breathlessly fast-paced dialogue, but also add the lyricism that Moliere’s original text supplied. The matinee performance on July 9 seemed appropriate for the comedy, as it may very well have been the time of day Moliere staged his theatrical pieces. This particular afternoon in Topanga presented an unusual challenge to the actors, who had to compete with the reggae sounds emanating from a Topanga Community Center festival. In a conversation after the performance, two actors told me that they used the competition to focus and that they thought it produced a better performance. The proceedings get under way from the moment Madame Parnelle elevates Tartuffe to a lofty place of reverence, thus allowing Moliere to lead us to Tartuffe’s eventual unmasking. While we are not sure who these actors are’seven cast members swarm the stage in this first act’we will eventually learn their relationship and service to the plot. Tartuffe’s hapless champion, Orgon, is willing to ransom the happiness of his daughter, Marianne, who he insists must marry Tartuffe against her wishes’and, for that matter, to ransom the future of his whole family for the sake of the man he believes to be the paradigm of goodness. By the time we meet Tartuffe, we are ready for the performance of all time’just who is this guy? There is no doubt that when Tartuffe is on stage, the air is electric. The entire cast, excellent one and all, reach even higher, stretch wider and achieve a quicksilver pace and hilarity. Aaron Hendry as Tartuffe meets the demands for pious self-flagellation, calculating knavery and rubber-band physicality without mugging or ‘winking’ to the audience. This is a performance not to miss. Working equally hard and achieving humorous success are Orgon, (Ted Barton), the exasperated patriarch and his equally pugnacious son, Damis (Daniel Billet), who tries, in vain, to control his choleric humor. Willow Geer as the insubordinate maid Dorine is a whirlwind of mischievousness and a charming manipulator. Elmire (Misha Bouvoin) is a triumph as she orchestrates the climatic unmasking scene between herself and Tartuffe. There will be a pre-show discussion on Saturday, July 23 at 3 p.m. Pre-performance French Proven’al buffet dinners take place in the theater’s adjacent gardens at 6:30 p.m. every Friday in September. For tickets, call (310) 455-3723 or visit theatricum.com.
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