By Robert St. Martin
Currently on stage at Will Greer Theatrium Botanicum in Topanga Canyon are several fun productions – one of which is an updated version of Molière’s French comedy Tartuffe. Tartuffe: Born Again is a modern adaptation of Molière’a play that casts Tartuffe as a deposed televangelist and con artist near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who rooks Orgon, a wealthy bourgeois who has taken a much younger second wife Elmire. Orgon signs over his soul to Tartuffe, a lecherous swindler who poses as a saint while pursuing a diabolical agenda. For all his holy protestations, Tartuffe is clearly a crook. He is also hell-bent on making Orgon a cuckold. In the modern adaptation, the characters cavort to either preventor aid Tartuffe in his grand plans.
Celebrated as a satire of religious hypocrisy Tartuffe: Born Again takes Orgon’s tyrannical piety to farcical extremes. The humor of the situation is joyously exploited in this stage production, but we come to understand some of Orgon’s unconscious motivations blindsided by religious piety that gives the comedy a sneaky depth. Freyda Thomas’ clever adaptation of Molière’s play into English with rhyming couplets is good fun, as we watch a Southern family in the 1980s attempt to deal with this aspiring televangelist modeled on Jimmy Swaggart and James Baker. Melora Marshall’s production is more screwball than psychological.
Tartuffe, or The Impostor, first performed in 1664, is the best-known theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theatre roles and when first performed for King Louis XIV at Versailles, Molière played Tartuffe himself. In this new adaptation, Orgon is played by Lynn Robert Berg with Michelle Jasso as his glamorous wife Elmire, and Tartuffe the televangelist performed by David DeSantos.
The play opens with the elderly Mrs. Pernell (Cynthia Kania) visiting her son Orgon’s house. She uses the opportunity to criticize all the members of the house and to praise their boarder, Tartuffe, because he is a man of such holiness and zeal. The others present offer objections to Tartuffe, maintaining that he is false and hypocritical, but Mrs. Pernell will not entertain such thoughts. As she leaves, she admonishes everyone to follow Tartuffe’s precepts. After Mrs. Pernell’s departure, Cléante (Jonathan Blandino), the more skeptical brother of Orgon talks with the housemaid Dorine (Tanya Alexander) about Tartuffe. They both agree that Tartuffe has beguiled Orgon. Elmire, Orgon’s wife, seems to be suffering from some strange physical ailment.
Damis (Joe Sprik), Orgon’s son, wonders whether his father will still allow his younger sister Maryann (Isabel Stallings) to marry her favored suitor Valère (Ethan Haslam). Damis must know Orgon’s feelings in general because he wants to marry Valère’s sister. He asks level-headed Cléante to question Orgon about his promise to allow the marriage to take place.
When Orgon arrives on stage, he is much more concerned about the welfare of Tartuffe than he is about his wife’s illness. Orgon’s brother Cléante tries to discuss Tartuffe with Orgon, but fails and discovers that Orgon is only interested in singing Tartuffe’s praises. When Orgon is questioned about the intended wedding of his daughter Maryann, he dodges the issues and refuses to give a direct answer. When his daughter arrives, Orgon tells her that he wants her to marry Tartuffe. He figures this will keep Tartuffe in his house. Maryann is so shocked that she cannot believe her ears.
After Orgon departs, Dorine, the maid, reprimands Maryann for not having refused to marry Tartuffe. Mariane’s beloved, Valère, arrives and accuses her of consenting to the marriage. Dorine the maid listens to them argue and then, after they are reconciled, she promises to help them expose Tartuffe’s hypocrisy. This sets the overall plot in motion. There is much silliness in the staging, including a musical prelude that draws campy inspiration from such 1980s icons as Olivia Newton-John and Richard Simmons. The costumes by Vicki Conrad set up a world that’s part Saturday Night Fever, part Jane Fonda aerobics video.
As the farce gains speed, Orgon (Lynn Robert Berg) dons a pink suit that looks like it something from the 1980s. Elmire (Michelle Jasso), Orgon’s younger wife, is dressed is a sexy outfit reminiscent of a Pedro Almodóvar comedy. Tartuffe (David DeSantos) comes off as an Elvis impersonator with various tacky wigs who discovers he can make big bucks as a televangelist. The costumes are a bit much and seem to be a humorous throw-back to the 1980s. The madcap antics of the actors on stage sometimes overwhelm the clever adapted text of Molière’s play.
Some central cast members really handle their parts – David DeSantos as Tartuffe and Michelle Jasso as Orgon’s wife Elmire. DeSantos struts around the stage like a Las Vegas nightclub virtuoso bordering on the style of Liberace. Jasso, as Elmire embodied, outraged common sense but also bold resourcefulness in the group’s plan to reveal Tartuffe’s hyprocrisy. Tanya Alexander as Dorine, the sharp-tongued maid who works to thwart Tartuffe’s takeover, is pivotal in the smooth running of the play. She drives the action with her sarcastic humor and quick-witted interventions.
Tartuffe: Born Again is a real frolic although a curious and somewhat dated take on Molière’s classical conman. In the age of Donald Trump and endless con artists – political and other, the play might come across as a too farcical to truly satirize the current political scene in the United States where far-right religious groups have far more power than back in the 1980s. But it is a fun production and not meant to be a serious statement about the world today.
Tartuffe: Born Again is on stage at Will Greer Theatricum Botanicum from July 13 through October 13. Check the Theatricum Botanicum website for dates, times, and ticket prices. I attended the production on July 27. Upcoming dates are: Sunday August 18 at 3:30pm; Sunday, August 25 at 3:30pm; Friday, August 30 at 7:30pm (Pay What You Will); Monday, September 9 at 7:30pm(Pay What You Will); Sunday, September 15 at 7:30pm; Sunday, September 22 at 3:30pm; Sunday, September 29 at 7:30pm; Saturday, October 5 at 7:30pm;Sunday, October 13 at 7:30pm.
Tickets: Premium Seating: $60; Assigned Seating: $48 – Adult; $35 – Senior (62+), Student/Teacher/Veteran: $35; Child: $15. Box Office: (310) 455-3723 or go to: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?actions=10&p=2
