Tartuffe Backstage Pass
Thank you for visiting BoHo Theatre's Backstage Pass for Tartuffe. We hope you enjoy this insight into the history of this play and our unique production
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Actor Insights
In Rehearsal With The Cast
Daria Harper: the Grande Dame, Lady Pernelle
"My name is Daria Harper and I play the character of Lady Pernelle in BoHo Theatre's production of Tartuffe. Lady Pernelle is the "Grand Dame" grandmother of the household who sweeps in with a flurry getting the play off to a rousing start. As well as being an actor, I am an Alexander Technique Teacher and have been performing and teaching in Charlottesville, VA since 1987. A new addition to Chicago, I already love this city and feel very lucky to be working with such a warm and welcoming group as BoHo Theatre. This cast is lovely and I hear The Wit theater space is fantastic.
"As rehearsals have progressed, I have found myself playing a cross between the regal staunch characters of Judi Dench and the lovely, well meaning character of Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith Show. Poor lady! She just wants things to work the "old school" way, where she is guaranteed her family's good placement in heaven and society, and where she is simply feels more comfortable.
"I think this family, like many, love each other desperately and at the same time drive each other crazy! But eventually they come through to support and protect each other when a truly evil force gets in amongst them and threatens the very fabric of their lives.
"I look forward to hearing audience response to our production and always love to partake in conversation about the play, so stop me anytime to chat."
Christa Buck: Tartuffe: A Funny, Smart and Timeless Piece
"Hi, I'm Christa Buck and I play Elmire in BoHo Theatre's production of Tartuffe. Ever since I first saw this show at the Court Theatre when I was in high school, Tartuffe has been a favorite show of mine. I love that it's funny, smart, and timeless. There are always people like Tartuffe, a con man with charisma, who feed on the weakness and insecurities of others for their own benefit. But, there are also people like those found in the family members who love each other fiercely; they will band together and protect each other from such a jerk!
"Another reason I love this play is that Molière's women are very strong characters. Even within the constraints of the time period, Elmire is smart and savvy. In a way she is not unlike Tartuffe in that she can manipulate others to get what she wants. What sets her apart from the title character, though, is her intentions are for the good of her family, and not just herself. I really like her! I'm reminded of the mom in My Big Fat Greek Wedding when she tells her daughter 'The man may be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck, and she can turn the head any way she wants.'"
Jeremy Trager: Tartuffe on Tartuffe
We don't really know what we've learned until we can look back on something that is finished.
Tartuffe is the antagonist, yes. He is a very tangible threat to every other character in the show. He is in some ways heartless. Certainly, he lacks morality. But he's coming from destitution; fighting to survive in an economically unfair society where the rich live like royalty and people like him eat scraps off the street. I can't really fault him for conning his way into luxury. That he uses religion as his means of manipulation speaks to his cleverness. One need only tune in to coverage of the Presidential caucuses to see that religion is still wielded as a way to gain favor. Tartuffe has too sordid a past to run for President of the United States, but his dog and pony show is quite similar to what we see in today's sociopolitical landscape. I suppose then, Tartuffe... or should I say, Moliere... was ahead of his time.
I remember watching our college production and thinking Tartuffe was a monstrous creature. This was - and is - the type of character I am most interested in playing. At that age, I could not really put into words why I was so interested in exploring the "bad guys." Now, as a more mature student of acting, I can attest that the "bad guys" often turn out to be the most complex and surprisingly human in any given story. After all, what is more human than to be deeply flawed?
Tartuffe Rehearsal Photos
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Designer Insights
Chad Bianchi, Set Designer:
Early set design concept by Chad Bianchi
The inspiration for setting the show in a "steampunk" world came from the year that France finally passed the law of separation of church and state- 1905. The tension between the old guard and the young generation felt to director Peter Robel and the designers as reflective of the tension between the characters onstage. Set designer Chad Bianchi found his path for the set design of Tartuffe in conversation about the steampunk early-twentieth century world with Robel. "I was really inspired by Peter’s idea of the Gothic cathedral, I wanted to invoke spaciousness while staying clean- as in tasteful, elegant, and crisp instead of ornate," explains Bianchi. The cathedral would be a constant reminder of the ancient religious past as it slammed up against a rapidly changing world.
To execute this set, Bianchi chose to create billowing purple fabric arches, which drape well and have a nice sheen to them. "They create an emphasis on the height of the space, but don’t compete with the actors." Bianchi chose to do a marble treatment of the floor to keep with the cathedral theme, and found clever ways to deal with a show demanding many hiding places yet produced in the round, with audiences on every side. "We looked at a lot of different furniture to find the right height and length so that they were functional as furniture and hiding places, but audience could still see everything. I designed and built the bookcase to have an open back for the same reason." Bianchi’s set reflects the grandeur and importance of a cathedral but functions practically for a show full of intrigue, passion, and outrageous humor.
Cassy Schillo, Prop Designer:
"Steampunk, Clockpunk can be looked at like victorian thrift store shopping... in space. What we are creating are worn, well loved pieces that have a period shout-out to future technology. This is in the worn metals of the materials, in the leather straps and gears. Most of the cast has found a personal prop that represents their relationship in the war waged between a frigid morality structure of religion and the adventurous dabbling in experimental technology. This ranges from the simpler hearing horn of Orgon who is fighting this seige in his family to the rebellious Dorine's feather duster holster. In combination with the costume design, we have swirled together a fun mix of history and technology in something that is both creatively challenging and visually delicious."
Renderings by Costume Designer Kate Setzer Kamphausen
Who was Molière?
Portrait of Molière by Nicolas Mignard (1658)
The playwright we know today as Molière was born in 1622 as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in Paris, the eldest of six children. His family was upper class and had a thriving upholstery business. Jean-Baptiste’s father, Jean Poquelin, was able to purchase a royal post for his family as "Tapissiers ordinaires de la chambre du Roi," (upholsters of the royal family). This brought the Poquelin family even closer to the royal court, which would help Jean-Baptiste in his adulthood as a playwright. In 1641, Jean-Baptiste attended a Jesuit school, College de Clermont, and received a Law Degree. He also began a famous romantic liaison with the much older actress Madeleine Bejart. Together in 1643, the two founded Illustre Theatre ("Illustrious Theatre"). Unfortunately, in 1644, Illustre Theatre failed, closed, and Jean-Baptiste was thrown into and bailed out of debtors prison.
In 1645, Jean-Baptiste began touring the countryside with an acting troupe (as an actor). It is at this time that he assumed the name Molière, and joined a theatre company, Dufresne, which he would eventually control. In 1656, after years of touring the countryside, Molière and his troupe returned to Paris and performed many successful shows written by Molière. In 1659, the troupe began to receive regular monetary support from the king and in 1660, the troupe moved to the theatre at Palais-Royal.
In 1662 Molière married Armande, an actress in his troupe twenty years his junior. The next year, Molière and his troupe were invited to perform at Versailles for the first time. In 1664, the first three acts of Tartuffe are presented to the court at Versailles. It was not until 1667 when the first complete version of Tartuffe was offered, but immediately suppressed by the king. Finally, two years later in 1669, a second version of Tartuffe was finally allowed to perform and was a huge success. Tartuffe made the troupe the most money they ever made in any one run of a show.
Molière eventually wrote over 30 plays and lived his life as a famous actor. In 1673, Molière became very ill during a performance of Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), and died on Feb 17, 1673. Molière suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis, possibly contracted when he was imprisoned for debt as a young man. The superstition that green brings bad luck to actors is said to originate from the colour of the clothing he was wearing at the time of his death.
Louis XIV invites Molière to share his supper - an unfounded Romantic anecdote, illustrated in 1863 painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Molière's Works
A selection of Molière's most well-known works include:
- The Imaginary Cuckold (1660)
- Critique of the School for Wives (1663)
- The Forced Marriage (1664)
- Tartuffe, or The Imposter (or Hypocrit) (1664)
- Love Is the Doctor (1665)
- The Misanthrope (1666)
- The Sicilian, or Love the Painter (1667)
- The Miser (1668)
- The Magnifiicent Lovers (1670)
- The Bourgeoius Gentleman (1670)
- The Learned Ladies (1672)
- The Imaginary Invalid (1673)
Most are available free online
A film about Molière (very much in the spirit of Shakespeare In Love), directed by Laurent Tirard, was released in 2007. The film focuses on several months of Molière's early life that are unknown to scholars. It begins in 1658, when the French actor and playwright returns to Paris with his theatrical troupe to perform in the theater the king has given him. Most of the film is in the form of a flashback to 1645. Following an unsuccessful run as a tragic actor, Molière is released from debtor's prison by Monsieur Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), a wealthy commoner with social pretensions, who agrees to pay the young actor's debts if Molière teaches him to act. The story is mostly fictional and overall has the feeling of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors but many scenes follow actual scenes and text in Molière's plays (including Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The Bourgeois Gentleman, whose principal character is also named Jourdain), in a manner that implies that these "actual" events in his life inspired the plays of his maturity. This is a recurrent plot device in the film, since Célimène is the main character's love interest in The Misanthrope.
Controversy over Tartuffe
There is very little written evidence as to why Molière’s Tartuffe was suppressed for years by the French King Louis XIV. It is very likely that some readings of the unfinished Tartuffe had been heard around court and that Louis XIV had been present at these readings. Word of the content of the play had made its way to an only 30-year-old Catholic organization, La Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement (Company of the Blessed Sacrament), and they begin to pressure Louis XIV to suppress the play. Molière’s former patron, Prince de Conti, had become a fervent member of this group around the same time he refused to continue supporting Molière’s troupe. There has been some suggestion that Conti inspired the play and the hypocritcal character of Tartuffe. Probably because of the influence of La Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement, just five days after the first performance of the unfinished play, Louis XIV officially forbade its performance.
One historical source suggests that strong protest against the play came from the King's mother, Anne of Austria. Queen Anne was a very religious woman who had ties with La Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement. The Queen Mother hated that Louis had a very public, and very loving, relationship with his mistress. She found this offensive, inappropriate and incompatible with her religion. In her many attempts to reform her son, she most likely recruited the efforts of La Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement, and so joined in their condemnation of the still as-of-yet unfinished Tartuffe.
The play was allowed to perform three private performances (only one of which was the completed text), but then was unseen until the Paris opening of the re-titled L’Imposteur in 1667. It ran only once to a packed house and was immediately shut down again. A week later, the Archbishop of Paris issued an order to prevent all the people of Paris from hearing, seeing, or reading L’Imposteur. Soon after this, an anonymous letter begins showing up in bookshops defending the play—though it had no effect. The king was out of Paris at the time, and Molière’s letters to him went unanswered. Finally, upon the return of the King to Paris, on February 5th, 1669, Tartuffe was allowed to open and stay open.