91¶ÌÊÓƵ

Blake Weaver (left) in the title role of Tartuffe, and Kylara Pankow as Dorine. (Photo: Marc Jacobs)

• October 21, 2014

Moliere's 17th century classic comedy "Tartuffe" will come to life at California State East Bay in performances Nov. 21-22 at 8 p.m., as well as a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 23, in the University Theatre on the Hayward campus.

Why would a sane man bring a homeless beggar into his home, promise him his daughter's hand in marriage, let him flirt shamelessly with his wife, and even make him his sole heir. Those questions are at the heart of "Tartuffe," penned by the French genius known as Moliere.

The 91¶ÌÊÓƵ University Theatre Department will stage this farce, which shines a spotlight on religious hypocrisy. The vagrant named Tartuffe pulls the wool over the eyes of his all-too-gullible patron by pretending to have a direct line to God.

The play was originally banned from production when it was first performed in the court of King Louis XIV in 1664. The royal clergy felt attacked by the play's title character, a con man cloaking his greed and desire for women under the guise of being a holy man. That, and the play's strong sexual content (at one point Tartuffe comes very close to making love to his patron's wife, while his patron, Orgon, is only a few feet away) gave the play the equivalent of an X-rating.

But King Louis XIV and his court were eager to see what had been banned, and "Tartuffe" has been an audience favorite for more than 400 years. The play opened San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre in a spectacular production in 1965, and Berkeley Rep is performing it this season as well. Marc Jacobs, director of the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ production and a faculty member in the Department of Theatre and Dance, was cast in a famous production by the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1971.

"The mystery of the play is why Orgon moves Tartuffe into his home and lets him take over his family," Jacobs said. "I think it is because Orgon has just married a second, very young wife, Elmire. He has two teenage children, Mariane and Damis, by his first wife, and he finds himself a middle-aged man surrounded by youngsters whom he cannot relate to. Like many men with a mid-life crisis, he is facing his own mortality, so the idea of someone who can help be his entre to heaven seems very attractive. Of course, Tartuffe is a complete fake and Orgon goes way too far, but that's where the comedy comes from."

The cast – all CSUEB students – is headed by Blake Weaver as Tartuffe and Gerardo Larios as Orgon. Also featured are Kylara Pankow as the maid, Dorine; Mariah Kuhn as Orgon's wife, Elmire; Tyler Dragoni and Rebecca Solteau as their children; Sean Scott as the brother-in-law, Cleante; Ronny Marasigan as Valere, the daughter's fiancée; Sandra Young-Cellilo as the grandmother; Alejandra Wahl as a bailiff's wife; Sean Hobbs as the police officer; Alexa Radion as a servant; and David Faubion in a surprise cameo.

Choreography is by alumna Lauren Hanzel, set and lighting design by students Adaire Cormack, and Chad Foster respectively. Hanzel graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in theatre and dance. She earned a master's degree in dance from York University in Toronto, Ontario, in 2008.

Costume faculty member Ulises Alcala has designed the period costumes.

For tickets, call the University Theatre Box Office at 510-885-3118 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or buy them online at: