Village Playhouse brings one of the masterpieces of French theater to Milwaukee with Tartuffe. Donna McMaster directs the staged reading; actors read the script at all times despite being clad in full costumes and moving in a replica of a nobleman’s sitting room in the 1600s.
Molière’s Tartuffe is the cautionary tale of a wealthy, pious but very gullible man, Orgon (Scott Stenstrup), who is duped by a swindler pretending to be a godly man. The man in question, Tartuffe, also known as The Hypocrite, is welcomed into Orgon’s home, offered the hand of Orgon’s daughter, Mariane (Isabel Roden), yet he lusts after Orgon’s wife (Lily Sullivan). Although the man’s deceit is obvious to all, Orgon remains willfully blind to it—he tells with admiration how Tartuffe’s virtue is so great he apologizes profusely and begs God for forgiveness for accidentally stepping on a mere flea.
Molière’s script masterfully employs satire to denounce the fanaticism one can reach when following religion blindly, and how silver-tongued men can twist faith constantly to justify any misdeeds or sins. When attempting to convince his benefactor’s wife to sleep with him, Tartuffe ensures that he can frame the action adeptly to make that sin disappear; “If nothing but Heaven obstructs my wishes, ‘tis a trifle with me to remove such a hindrance,” he claims. Because of that criticism of faith, which is framed with ridicule, Tartuffe was initially banned in France on the order of the Roman Catholic Church.
While the script itself is of exceptional quality, and the translation into English retains much of the wit and wordplays of the original French, audiences may be put off by some of the actors’ performances. It’s a community theater mostly staffed by amateurs. Some truly shine, like Jackie Benka as Dorine, the maid, who delivers each line with professionalism, conviction and humor, and most actors offer an adequate reading of Molière’s script, like Rob Kuhnen’s energetic Tartuffe. But the performance ultimately feels uneven, especially for a two-and-a-half-hour-long play.
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Through August 18 at Inspiration Studios, 1500 S. 73rd St., West Allis. For tickets and more information, visit villageplayhouse.org.
