The Kammerspiel presents Molière’s Tartuffe, adapted by Bob Sloan

This production from The Kammerspiel (a theater troupe founded in 2020 for “commercially non-viable productions that are subversive and sublime”) starts off a little hard to follow, but once the plot starts moving, there are so many twists racing along that it’s surprisingly suspenseful.

Sparring with a saintly scoundrel

Orgon (Nathaniel Fishburn) is enthralled by the saintly Tartuffe (Connor Hogan), to the point of offering his daughter Marianne (Ciani Barclay) in marriage to the holy man. Everyone else in the house sees Tartuffe for the jerk he is, and tries to convince Orgon before it’s too late. Fishburn makes a great Orgon, full of unearned self-confidence. Marianne’s sensible companion Dorine (Jennifer Summerfield) constantly undercuts him by pointing out the obvious. Deborah Crocker is Elmire, Orgon’s second wife and the object of Tartuffe’s lust.

Dorine and Elmire, the protagonists, develop a ploy to get Orgon to see the truth about his idol. Summerfield and Crocker hold the stage with sharp, intelligent deliver and the commanding presence the characters need. Tartuffe himself doesn’t appear until an hour in. One by one, he knocks down the plots against him, until finally he slips up and brings himself down.

Hogan’s Tartuffe shows the cheer and confidence that makes Orgon’s fascination understandable. This works against him near the end, when Tartuffe’s evil side is exposed, but Hogan can’t help but still make the scoundrel upbeat.

A closer to beat Molière?

Tartuffe is having a moment. Two different productions ran in New York last Fall, one with Andre de Shields, and one with Mathew Broderick as Tartuffe and David Cross as Orgon. This story of a self-righteous rich man taken in by a religious hypocrite has been finding an audience since 1664, in numerous translations (there’s even a silent 1925 version by F.W. Murnau).

This adaptation by Bob Sloan uses traditional rhyming couplets, adding cell phones and modern catchphrases. The dialogue is clever, a mix of lines straight from Molière and good twists from Sloan. The costumes and makeup lean into the clowning tradition, but the performances aren’t particularly clown-like; there are a few pratfalls, but it’s light on physical comedy. Clowning aside, the performers, directed by Josh McIlvain, deliver on the material.

Molière doesn’t always make it easy: six of the eight characters are in the first scene, with Orgon’s mother, Mme. Pernelle (Dave Allison), dumping millions of lines of backstory on each one; Tartuffe doesn’t show up until Act III. Sloan, frankly, salvages a better closing line than Molière left us. No spoilers, but it’s a haunting fade-to-black for our time.