The Wabash Theater Department will open its 2024-2025 season with a 1664 comedy about family, religious differences, and a charismatic charlatan.
“Tartuffe” opens 皇冠足球比分_澳门皇冠体育-在线|平台@dnesday, Oct. 2, and runs through Saturday, Oct. 5, with performances in the Ball Theater of the Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. each evening. Tickets are free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended and can be made at wabash.edu/boxoffice.
“The initial public reception of ‘Tartuffe’ is the stuff of theatrical legend,” said Director and Theater Professor Jim Cherry. “After its premiere at Versailles in 1664, the play was immediately condemned and banned from public view. After rewrites to satisfy the Church hierarchy, the play reopened five years later and was a massive success. It’s been in the repertoire of the French national theater ever since, and is its most performed play.”
The play opens with the seemingly perfect Tartuffe ingratiating himself with the wealthy Orgon and his family. His combination of charm, respectability, and religious authority proves so irresistible that he is eventually promised the hand of Orgon’s daughter in marriage. But others in the family believe there is more to Tartuffe than meets the eye.
Alex Schmidt ’27, who plays Tartuffe, explained that the play has themes that will resonate with modern audiences, despite being written in the 17th century.
“The jokes and even the main topics, like people abusing people for power, or sexual assault, are pretty relevant today,” he said. “It’s really interesting how something so old can still be so relatable.”
Schmidt said he has been challenged by playing a villain.
“I had to figure out how to be involved with my scene partners on stage and still break the fourth wall and do something that won't completely disrupt the scene, but will say, ‘Hey, look at me. Look what I'm really doing.’” He added, “In this role I have to be open with the audience about my true intent, but also still be somewhat closed.”
The cast includes Alex Schmidt ’27 as Tartuffe; Carson Wirtz ’26 as Cleante; Dan
Rogers as Orgon; Delada Mudd as Dorine; Eamon Colglazier ’28 as Damis; Eli Reeves ’25 as Valere; Isabella de Assis-Wilson as Mariane; Jill Rogers as Elmire; Julia Phipps as Madame Pernelle; Preston Parker ’26 as The Officer; and Xavier Master ’28 as Monsieur Loyal.
The production includes stage manager Xavier Cienfuegos ’27, assistant stage manager RJ Sturgill ’28, costume designer Brandon Thompson, scene designer and technical director David BW Vogel, and lighting designer Bailey L. Rosa.
Cherry said the structure of the play has been a challenge for the actors.
“Working with actors on the iambic tetrameter, adapted by Ranjit Bolt, has been the most challenging part of the process, but also the most fun. 皇冠足球比分_澳门皇冠体育-在线|平台@’ve learned together how the meter also gives you a structure that you can play within, and some opportunities for humor which are really distinctive and quirky.” He added, “I find myself wanting to speak in couplets outside of rehearsal—the meter gets in your head.”
A cash bar with a selection of domestic beers will be available in the art gallery for those 21 and older who wish to partake responsibly. Participants must bring a valid ID, no exceptions.
Ultimately, Schmidt says, audiences should come expecting surprises.
“Wabash always has our own twist with stuff. Especially in the end, it’s going to be really funny. A lot of people, especially Wabash students, are going to absolutely lose their minds.”