Directed by Walt Jones
Sinner or saint, the character of Tartuffe certainly divides opinion. To Orgon, the mast of the house, Tartuffe is the epitome of piousness, a beggar motivated only to save their souls. But to Orgon’s family, Tartuffe is a con man, taking advantage of people’s good nature. Tartuffe orders Orgon’s daughter to marry him, while enforcing his view that ‘a secret sin is no sin at all’ as he confesses his love to Orgon’s wife, Elmire. The family attempts to unveil Tartuffe’s deceit, but it’s too late; the family is ordered off the estate, which now belongs to Tartuffe.
In this brisk 85-minute family entertainment, translated by Richard Wilbur, Tartuffe is transformed into the 60s mod subculture that changed fashion, music, art, cars, anything that the upper middle class thought to be popular, fashionable, and modern. Revived in the television series Mad Men, images of pop art and the mod movement will influence the visual and aural aspects of the production, blending of 17th-century Paris with the “McMansion” or a present-day suburb in the U.S.
Tartuffe is presented by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service, Inc. New York
Click to read the Tartuffe Program.
Photos
Colorado State University Theatre presents Tartuffe by Moliere, a Shakespeare at Sunset production, directed by Walt Jones.
