Performance - Tartuffe: Born Again

Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum presents a hilarious satire about greed, corruption and hypocrisy. In Tartuffe: Born Again, translator and adaptor Freyda Thomas puts a contemporary spin on the original French play, recasting Molière’s Tartuffe as a deposed televangelist who takes advantage of his naïve and gullible host to rook him and his family of their money. Performances run July 13 through October 13 at Theatricum’s beautiful outdoor venue in Topanga.

Moliere’s legendary comedic characters are wonderfully at home in this present day version, which is set in a religious television studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and written wholly in delightful modern verse. David DeSantos (last seen at Theatricum as Coriolanus) headlines in the title role, while Lynn Robert Berg (concurrently appearing as Captain Hook on the same stage in Wendy’s Peter Pan) stars as Orgon. Michelle Jasso (now on Theatricum’s stage as Emelia in The Winter’s Tale)plays Elmire; Jon Sprik (Richard III in last season’s War of the Roses) portrays Damis; Jonathan Blandino (multiple appearances at Theatricum, including Oberon in last summer’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream)playsCleante; Cynthia Kania (most recently seen at Theatricum in War of the Roses) is Mrs. Pernell; and Isabel Stallings (also starring as Helena in this season’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) is Maryann opposite Ethan Haslam (Theatricum’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and Trouble the Water) as Valere. Also in the cast are company members Blaire Battle, Ted Dane, Shoshanna Green, Rebecca Oca-Nussbaum, Sky Wahl and Timothy Willard. The production is directed by Melora Marshall.

“How do you stop an invasive, cultish worm who uses lies of Biblical proportions to wind his way into your family life, your town, your city… your country?” asks Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer. “Through the brilliant storytelling of Molière and Freyda Thomas’s clever adaptation in rhyming couplets, we watch a Southern family in the 1980s begin to recognize a taker in their midst. Hilarious mayhem ensues as they recognize the danger, rise up and remove the culprit.”

Set and props are by Ian Geatz, lighting is by Hayden Kirschbaum and costumes are by Vicki Conrad. Music is compiled and arranged by Kellen McDaniel and Marshall McDaniel, with sound design by Grant Escandón. Berber Heerema is the assistant director. Beth Eslick is the wardrobe supervisor and Amayah Watson is the assistant stage manager. The production stage manager is Karen Osborne.

Tartuffe: Born Again will run in rotation every weekend with The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Wendy’s Peter Pan, each of which open earlier in the season. Upcoming, The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné Vote,a new political comedy by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award-winning playwright Bernardo Cubría, will join the repertory season on August 24. Unlike most theaters in the L.A. area that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum will perform all five plays in repertory, making it possible to see them all in a single weekend once they are all up and running.

WHO:
• Translated and Adapted by Freyda Thomas from the original French by Molière
• Directed by Melora Marshall
• Starring Blaire Battle, Lynn Robert Berg, Jonathan Blandino, Ted Dane, David De Santos, Shoshanna Green, Ethan Haslam, Michelle Jasso, Cynthia Kania, Rebecca Oca-Nussbaum, Jon Sprik, Isabel Stallings, Sky Wahl, Timothy Willard
• Presented by Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum