USF’s production of Tartuffe

USF’s production of Tartuffe

By Tara Giddings

The red nosed production of Tartuffe put on by the University of San Francisco’s Performing Arts Department was an entertaining version of the comedy by Moliére. Thanks to the direction by Ken Sonkin that play used lots of physical comedy as well as word play. The performances were very dramatic with each character being portrayed someone of the opposite sex. The actors all managed to represent their characters well, using typical comedic attributes of masculinity and femininity while still being clear in their character’s emotional state.

The main character Tartuffe, is described in the handout for the play as “the religious hypocrite; a scoundrel” which accurately describes the overall plot of the play. Tartuffe is played by Juliana King who embraced her character’s obvious absurdity, confidence and manipulative attitude. The plot follows Organ (Sarah Medley) who invites Tartuffe into his home and falls into his trap. The actress aptly portrays Orgon as someone who is easily taken advantage of. Despite warnings from his family made up of his wife (Kalan Birnie) and son (Tyler Drake), who both shine comically through pretend seduction and anger. Orgon goes as far as to attempt to marry off his daughter (Aly Suleman) to Tartuffe. In her part Sulman portrays a classically distraught woman in an entertaining and rather typical method.

After transferring all his property to Tartuffe,  Orgon realizes his “friend” is romantically interested in his wife. Then the family, including one of the highlights of the supporting cast, the old man Elmire (Kayla Robinson), works to save the fortune. The comedy has a happy ending with Tartuffe being brought down by his own actions. The best part of the play is the character of Dorine, the extremely sassy maid who brought the most laughs from the audience with the fantastic acting of Evan Boudkidis. The other actors who transferred seamlessly from butlers to officers were Karina Bran and Kelli Westad.

The theme of religious hypocrisy weighs heavily in the play, as every ironic statement about the importance of God during inappropriate moments is followed by the sign of the cross being performed by the entire cast. The costumes provide an immediate description of the character’s personalities, from the very girly daughter’s pink outfit to Orgon’s suit making him look more important that he is. The best use of costume is Tartuffe’s giant gold cross which he reveals after manipulating his way into the family inheritance. This is another prime moment to imply to the hypocrisy provided by overbearing religious ideals.  

The humor of the play keeps the audience involved in to story, although overall I think the play ended up being more comical than thematic. The entertainment kept the audience’s constant attention, at some points the actors even came into the audience. When the maid sat down to give a commentary, Boudkidis once again showed Dorine is the most important character by giving wise advice to the rest of the cast while causing the most laughs. The play portrayed the importance of comedy to tell a story, heightened by the switched gender of the actors. The performances implied the social justice issues such as paternalism, the lower position of women and hints at issues of social hierarchy and wealth.

The directing of the play allowed an easy going production to give the audience an amusing experience while touching on underlying problems that are relevant both in the 17th century by Molière and today. The red noses represent the obvious approach that the play took towards the deeper issues. The show manages to be entertain the audience by letting the obvious physical humor shine in a play that leaves you feeling the hilarity in the face of the issues addressed.