Deception, hypocrisy, and false piety all play a central role in Covenant College’s upcoming theatre production of “Tartuffe.” Its author, the classic French playwright Molière, was known to push the limits of what was an acceptable topic of a play during the 1600s. The play was banned for its “heretical” focus on false piety and religious charlatans in 1669, three years after its first release.
This was just one of Molière’s plays that was banned by the French court—his next play “Don Juan” disappeared mysteriously from production. However, while Molière was working on getting “Tartuffe” re-released under a different name, the ban was removed. After this, the show came to be a rousing success. The comedy of this show has managed to surpass time and culture to continue to be uproariously funny and accessible to its modern audiences.
In Covenant’s modern take on the French classic, the con artist Tartuffe has managed to weasel his way into the home of the rich Orgon and establish himself as Orgon’s main confidant and religious advisor, to the horror of Orgon’s family. Tartuffe has so entrenched himself in Orgon’s life that Orgon turns a deaf ear to his family’s concerns and even promises Tartuffe his daughter’s hand in marriage. Determined to get rid of him, Orgon’s wife, brother-in-law, and maid band together to expose Tartuffe’s charlatan ways to the oblivious Orgon. Unbeknownst to these schemers, however, Tartuffe has his own plan to foil them all.
This show is not just here for kicks and giggles though. It brings to the surface important topics about piety, especially for a Christian audience. How do we tell the difference between true and false religious zeal, and how do we handle false teachers? In an era where some might say there is too much knowledge at our fingertips, sometimes it is even more difficult to differentiate between the false and the real. It is at times like this that the advice of friends and family can be the most important and trustworthy.
“Tartuffe” plays on November 15, 16, and 22 at 8 pm and on November 23 at 2:30 pm. After the last show, there will be a discussion panel with Dr. Bill Tate, Dr. Jiewon Baek, and Professor Camille Hallstrom.
Tickets are $7 for students, seniors, and staff, and $10 for everyone else, though there is a group rate of $5 per person with groups of five or more. Tickets can be purchased right before the show at the door or in the Great Hall during lunch and dinner. Tickets can also be reserved by contacting the box office by phone at 706-419-1051 or by email at boxoffice@covenant.edu.