Stage Review - Tartuffe, Born Again (Phoenix Theatre)
Stage Review - Tartuffe, Born Again
Presented By: Phoenix Theatre - Edmonds, WA
Show Run: October 04 - October 27, 2024
Date Reviewed: Sunday, October 20, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
It’s one of humanity’s oldest tales, that of the swindler, the imposter, the fraud. Since practically the dawn of time, humans have been led astray by someone who has promised the world and delivered nothing. There are modern stories of this in popular culture, Henry Hill in The Music Man comes to mind, but one of the classic stories in this genre comes from France, and has been around for generations. Molière, the French playwright, actor, and poet whose actual name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, is one of the most influential artists in his nation’s history, and one of his most popular works is a timeless version of this theme. Tartuffe, ou L’Imosteur, or “Tartuffe the Imposter”, first performed in 1664, tells the story of a family who comes under the influence of a pious man who pretends to have a connection to God and speaks under His authority, a man whom Orgon and his mother, the matriarch of the family, won’t do anything without first consulting. The rest of the family sees right through Tartuffe’s lies and detest him, while fruitlessly attempting to show the pair the error of their ways. When Orgon’s wife and her brother formulate a plan to have Tartuffe show his true colors, the family is left to consider the damage their relationship with the former vagrant turned man of God has done and whether it’s something they can recover from. This classic story caught the eye of playwright Freyda Thomas, who thought that revisiting it in the context of the 1980s, and the height of the televangelism craze in America would make for a timely adaptation. She wasn’t wrong, and in a time in our country where we see men in power who resemble this imposter, Phoenix Theatre, in Edmonds, believes that putting up Thomas’ Tartuffe, Born Again is the perfect way to start their 2024-25 season.
Directed by Eric Lewis, the Phoenix Theatre production runs on stage in Edmonds through October 27, and features BJ Smyth as Louisiana vagrant turned evangelist Tartuffe and an ensemble that presents this comedy in a most hilarious way. In this version, Tartuffe is brought in by Orgon (Jag), who is fully bought in, as is his mother, Mrs. Pernell (Susan Connors). Everyone else seems to see through the well dressed and seemingly extra polite Tartuffe’s charade, the ones most vocal being Orgon’s brother-in-law Cleante (Eric Hartley) and the floor manager of Orgon’s television studio where Tartuffe is preparing to deliver his latest sermon, Dorine (Ashlie Blaske). BJ is just about perfect as the schlocky Tartuffe. His drawl, big smile, and polite manner are so over the top, but every once in awhile his true personality comes through, especially when he sees Orgon’s wife, Elmire (Laura McFarlane). BJ delivers on all counts here, he’s just so funny in this role, and he’s a master at the smarmy, while Jag is very good at the servant who is willing to put Tartuffe above even his own family. The highlight of BJ’s performance for me is the opening to Act 2, as his Tartuffe prepares for his next sermon. It’s a look inside the mind of this complicated character, and the way BJ flits in and out of thought and into speech is quite extraordinary. It’s funny, but it’s also the point of the show. And when Cleante and Elmire hatch a plan to shine a light on the true nature of Tartuffe, the result is a scene from Laura and BJ that steals the show.
On the other side, it’s Eric’s Cleante and Ashlie’s Dorine who seem to be the only ones willing to stand up to Tartuffe, and to try and diligently convince Orgon that he’s following a fraud. These two are both emphatic in their attitudes toward Tartuffe, Eric’s performance passionate and bold, but generally level headed, while Ashlie’s is more emotional and guided with a bit of attitude. I adore both of these performances, and for different reasons. Ashlie, as Dorine, is forward and direct, and she’s very good at reacting to those she shares the stage with, while Eric as Cleante holds himself as a southern gentleman, a good natured man of leisure, but also one of principle. Each is extremely strong, full of stage presence, and so very funny. Then again, each actor here turns in very good, and extremely humorous, performances. Their accents are also not just well done, but they’re also consistent throughout and varied, meaning that the actors don’t just sound like different sides of the same coin. Credit to dialect coach Grace Helmcke for helping to create an environment on stage that feels realistic. The extent to which Orgon is bought into what Tartuffe is selling seems to know no bounds. It not only impacts the relationship with his wife, Laura’s Elmire, but also their children Damis, the Black Sabbath loving, karate chop swinging son played so hilariously well by James Lynch, and Maryann, the daughter played by Sage Jennings who refuses to stand up to her father, even when he asks her to do something that she can’t even fathom doing, something contrary to a promise that her father made in blessing her upcoming marriage to Valere (Andrew Weis). Rounding out the cast is Ines Kreitlin as De Salle, and Morgan Peeler as Agent Loyal. I can’t say enough about the individual performances here, and beyond how very good BJ is in this lead role, it’s the quality of the group as an ensemble that makes Tartuffe, Born Again exceedingly good.
I mentioned how realistic the show feels, and that’s important when delivering a comedy like this. Not everything needs to be over the top funny, there has to be a little bit of realism to make the humor work as well as it does here. It goes for the accents, as I said earlier, but it’s every piece of the creative puzzle that serves as a backdrop. Eric Lewis’ set has all the pieces in place to feel like a television studio, from the sound and video booth, to the platform on which Tartuffe would sit for his conversations on the air, even to the snack area of the studio where some of the most important conversations happen. Oh, one warning, there is a cringy moment involving canned cheese, but I’ll leave it at that. It, like everything else in this production garners the desired reaction from the audience. Beyond the set, designed by Eric and decorated by Susan Connors, lighting and sound (Craig Marshall) play a big part in the delivery of the show, and Audrey McGee’s costumes fit the personalities of the characters wearing them so well, from Tartuffe’s brightly colored and questioningly accessorized suit, to Elmire’s sequined top, and to the coordinated pastels of Maryann and Valere. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention Cleante’s suit that screams sitting on the front porch in the southern heat with a glass of lemonade. It’s all done so well, and each aspect of the production comes together to deliver something very entertaining.
We’ve all heard stories of men who are full of promises, without anything to back them up. Men who use their enthusiasm and larger than life personality to draw us into their world of deceit and lies. Tartuffe, the classic French story of such a man, a pious man who turns out to be a fraud, has been reimagined by playwright Freyda Thomas into a production that speaks to a more modern audience, proving that the timeless is all too often timely, as Tartuffe, Born Again, is. Featuring BJ Smyth in a superb performance, along with an extremely talented ensemble, the Phoenix Theatre production of this show gets its point across, and does it in a way that is extremely funny from start to finish. It retains the heard of Moière’s original story while delivering it into a time when we all need to consider to whom it is we decide to follow blindly.
Tartuffe, Born Again runs on stage at Phoenix Theatre in Edmonds through October 27. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.tptedmonds.org/.
Photo Credit: Jim Sies
