UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Centre Stage will produce “Tartuffe” by Molière, translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur, March 19-30 at the Pavilion Theatre on the University Park campus.
Tartuffe is a sanctimonious scoundrel who, professing extreme piety, is taken into the household of Orgon, a wealthy man. Under the guise of ministering to the family’s spiritual and moral needs, he almost destroys Orgon’s family.
Tartuffe is a charlatan disguised as a zealot, a sensualist masquerading as an ascetic, a wolf dressed as a lamb. In the guise of a holy man, he worms his way into the good graces of Orgon, a wealthy and gullible man of faith. Once there, he wreaks havoc on Orgon's house and home, devouring his food, stealing his money and dividing his family. To Orgon, Tartuffe is the very picture of piousness, concerned only with the soul, but Orgon’s family sees through the act; to them he is a con man, a grifter, a dark and malevolent actor who uses his feigned religious zeal to take advantage of people’s good nature. Sinner or saint, Tartuffe is nothing if not divisive.
"Because Tartuffe’s hypocrisy is condemned and ridiculed by all but fools from the very first moments of the play, why would audiences be confused about Tartuffe’s morality or seek to emulate him?" wrote student dramaturg Mitchell Case. "By seeing hypocrisy — and its enablers — depicted on stage, we are more able to recognize it in others and ourselves. This theatrical mirror is often very inconvenient to the people who have earned our trust because we may realize that they themselves are hypocrites and imposters. Despite having been the ones to rail against such people the loudest, those we have newly appointed trustworthy because they have saved us from the danger have simply taken the hypocrites’ place right under our noses."
Artistic Director Rick Lombardo added, "Moliere wasn't lampooning religion, but rather religious hypocrisy, false piety, and the gullibility of characters like Orgon. Three hundred-fifty years later, the play sadly remains as relevant and cutting as ever!"
Evening performances at 7:30 p.m. are $23; preview performance at 7:30 p.m. is $20; and tickets for students are $15. For additional show information, visit the Penn State Centre Stage website. Non-Penn State arts and architecture students can see it for free by visiting this link.