Elgin's Independent Players to present 'Tartuffe'

As part of its 40th Anniversary celebration, Elgin's Independent Players will present Moliere's "Tartuffe," a 17th century French comedy.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 23-March 10 at the Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for students.

"We're doing 'Our Town' and 'The Glass Menagerie' (this season) because I wanted to do American classics and also a foreign classic so I chose 'Tartuffe,'" said artistic director Don Haefliger of Crystal Lake.

"Tartuffe" is satire that focuses on such timeless themes as enlightenment, ideals of reason, the hierarchical structure of society, and religious hypocrisy that is embodied in the character Tartuffe, a con man and would-be religious figure.

"It's classic comedy. Tartuffe is a swindler, a religious con man," said Dana Udelhoven of Batavia who plays Dorine, the lady's maid. "He claims to be religious but he's really out for all he can get. He's not a nice fellow."

"This guy has a negative effect on the family because he's so rigid and thinks everyone should be perfect; they shouldn't party too much or wear fancy clothes," Haefliger added. "He tries to take over the place."

Orgon, the patriarch of the family, is "going through a midlife crisis," according to Haefliger, and is taken in by Tartuffe who proceeds to relieve Orgon of everything he owns.

"Everyone can see through him except the patriarch of the family," said Udelhoven. "The women realize the guy is a fraud."

Udelhoven thinks the female characters of this play might have been trailblazers for feminism.

"Orgon's got a maid and the woman of the house who are both smarter than the patriarch of the house," said Udelhoven.

"It's interesting from a feminine point of view because of the women," Haefliger said. "Ultimately it isn't the men in the show that bring the conclusion, it's the women."

The play has been translated from French to English, according to Haefliger.

"The script is wonderful," he said. "The man who translated it into English - Richard Wilbur - is as close as you can get to saying exactly what Moliere wrote."

The play was written in rhyming couplets, which can be challenging for the actors but is easily understood by theatergoers.

"You need to say your lines as if you're talking naturally," said Udelhoven. "A lot of times it's difficult for the audience to hear there's a rhyming couplet. You might have one person talking in the middle of a line and then another person finishes the line that rhymes. It might even go from scene to scene."

Memorizing a script written in such an unusual style can be a challenge, according to said Steve Connell of Crystal Lake, who plays Tartuffe.

"We have to be very precise or the rhymes or the rhythm doesn't work," he said. "In a modern play you might be able to get by with ad-libbing, but the meaning is there, but in this, it's pretty crucial to get it right."

The play was written near the time of Shakespeare, but Connell finds the language of Moliere easier to understand than that of The Bard.

"This is way more accessible than Shakespeare," he said.

Connell is enjoying playing the villain and title character, although he found it surprising that he doesn't appear until well into the play.

"So much of the play the other characters are talking about my character," said Connell. "He's really not in it as much as you would think."

When Tartuffe arrives on the scene, however, the fun begins for Connell.

"It's way more fun than to play a hero," he said. "It accesses parts of me that I don't access in daily life. We spend so much time trying not to be villains and bad people, but it's inside all of us. To be able to dig that up and portray it on a stage, it's wonderful."

If you go

What: Independent Players' production of Moliere's "Tartuffe"

When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Feb. 23-24, March 2-3 and 9-10

Where: Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., Elgin

Tickets: $15; $12 for senior and $10 for students. Purchase online with credit card or at the door with cash or check.

Details: <a href="http://www.independentplayers.org">www.independentplayers.org</a>