Tartuffe

Last night I saw the McCarter Theater production of Moliere's Tartuffe, directed by Daniel Fish. Tartuffe is a much-produced chestnut of French theater, which I first read back in my freshman year of college. I think this is the third production I've seen over the years.

The play is about religious hypocrisy, which is always a relevant issue, not just in the 17th century, when it was written. The character of Tartuffe is a con man, taken in by the gullible Orgon. Though Orgon's family and servants see Tartuffe for the hypocrite he is, Orgon believes him to be a pious man, and follows his advice to the letter. He even goes so far as to break off his daughter Mariane's engagement to a man named Valere and instead offers her to Tartuffe, and eventually signs over the deed to his property to the man.

All of this is written in charming comedic couplets. There are a lot of humorous set pieces, such as when Orgon inquires of his maid, Dorine, what has happened in his few days absence. Dorine describes how Orgon's wife, Elmire, suffered from a bout of illness, but all he cares about is Tartuffe. Then there is Valere's scene when he confronts Mariane about the engagement being broken. The actor, Daniel Cameron Talbott, has a field day, erupting with anger and doing an almost complete striptease. Then there is the famous scene when Elmire convinces Orgon to hide under a table and hear for himself what a con man Tartuffe really is.

It's hard to mess this classic up, but Fish has done his best. A lot of the play's plot hinges on eavesdropping, which I imagine is the reason Fish has employed a video monitor in the action. The set is constructed with a bedchamber off to stage left, which is not visible from all points in the theater. But a woman holding a videocamera skulks about, shooting what we can't see so it is broadcast on a large monitor on the back wall of the stage. This sounds interesting, but the result is terribly distracting. The video design is credited to Alexandra Eaton, although it is unclear if that is the woman holding the camera. Whoever it is, the video is frequently choppy and not focused on the proper person, and the whole thing feels at times like The Blair Witch Project. The woman is also dressed in contemporary clothes, so she looks like an interloper who has leaped uninvited onto stage. This is lessened somewhat as some of the characters in the play change into more contemporary garb (Valere ends up in a track suit, and Tartuffe in a bowling shirt). I suppose this is Fish's way of insinuating that there are Tartuffes in all ages, including this one, but I'm always unsettled by inconsistency in period details. Either make it contemporary dress or not.

The acting is generally good, particularly the aforementioned Talbott and Sally Wingert as Dorine, who does best with the language. Zach Grenier is Tartuffe, and I couldn't help but feeling he was modeling his performance on how Kevin Spacey might play it. Andy Patterson makes the most of his small performance as a bailiff. I would have liked to have seen this cast perform the play straight, leaving the video equipment in storage.