by Moliere

Tartuffe is a charismatic who has been touched by God. He is a visionary. He practices religious devotion and self-sacrifice. He has fits. He converses with the divine. He can be very scary. Orgon invites him home to live with his family and introduces him to his beautiful wife Elmire…. what could possibly go wrong? Join us for Moliere’s brilliant comedy… October – November 2017

Molière’s Tartuffe is a hilarious play, and sometimes it’s best to just let a comedy play without trying to project other things onto it. In my opinion, Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s production of this 17th-century classic might have been a more complete success if they’d just let Molière’s comedy do its thing. As it is, the production seems a little too divided between lighthearted humor and some undercurrent of…something. (Judging from the comments I heard at intermission, I wasn’t the only one confused by the ending of the first half.) At the same time, however, United Stages has done some wonderful things with Molière’s script; and in spite of its flaws, their Tartuffe (directed by Craig Smith at The Wild Project) is certainly worth seeing. One such thing is Debbi Hobson’s spot-on costuming. In the first act, most of the characters wear sumptuous 17th-century clothing in the French aristocratic style. Bright and elaborate, it’s like eye candy for costume enthusiasts. However, in an insightful move, these bright costumes clash with Orgon’s black, Puritan-like attire, and even more so with Tartuffe’s brown priestly robes. But Hobson is just getting started: in the second act, the …Read more