Home  Entertainment Reviews “Tartuffe” by Moliére
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Written by Barry Gaines
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last updated Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at 13:51:20 ... created Saturday, 19 November 2005
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“Tartuffe,” the satiric comedy of religious hypocrisy and gullible patrons by the 17th century French comic genius Moliére, is running at the Vortex.
I found the production heavy-handed and ultimately disappointing. Moliére’s play, written in 1664, features a scoundrel, Tartuffe, who by virtue of his supposed piety has insinuated himself into the household of wealthy Orgon. Orgon and his mother Madame Fernelle are deceived by Tartuffe’s sham godliness. Tartuffe tries to seduce Orgon’s wife Elmire but is exposed by Orgon’s son Damis who overhears the overtures. Orgon is, however, convinced by Tartuffe that he is maligned, and foolish Orgon gives a gift of his house and promises his daughter Mariane to the charlatan. Mariane is in love with Valère, and her saucy maid Dorine pleads her case. Tartuffe is finally exposed, but he then claims possession of the house. Divine intervention finally makes all right. The production uses modern dress and setting as well as Richard Wilbur’s clever English translation into iambic pentameter rhymed couplets. Director John Hardman designed the set, a modern sofa (surmounted by a lighted cross) incongruously next to a sacramental altar with chalice, carved cross, religious picture, and Bible--none of which are used. Wilbur’s text does not call for an altar. Director Hardman appears to have offered his cast three modes of expression: bellow, scream, or shout. At times most of the cast members could be heard in the farthest corners of Popejoy Hall; unfortunately, they were performing across the street at the Vortex. Only Eldaa Daily as Elmire, Taunya Crilly as Dorine, Remy Rotenier as Cléante, and Jeremy Joynt as Tartuffe provide modulation. Sheer volume is not the only way to express emotion. Mark Guest rants his way through the role of Orgon as A. J. Carian does with Damis--like father, like son. Andrew Leith and Joanna Furgal make an attractive couple as Valère and Mariane. Jeremy Joynt has many good moments as Tartuffe, but his exaggerated Southern accent and fey gestures seem are more political than dramatic. Also heavy-handed is the insistent connection between the religious insincerity of Tartuffe and the duplicity of the present U. S. administration and its courtship of the religious right. The presidential seal is reproduced on the floor of the set, with the ribbon reading “In Vortex Veritas (“in the Vortex is truth”). Before and during the play, slides of Bush’s “one finger victory salute” and other unflattering pictures and cartoons are projected on a screen above the stage. A character asks, “Must I shout it into your ears?” My answer is “NO.” “Tartuffe” by Moliére runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. through December 11 at the Vortex Theatre, 2004? Central SE. $10 general admission, $8 students, seniors, and Sundays. Call 247-8600 for information.
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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