Westfield State College's Theatre Arts Program will open its 2009-2010 season with a production of Moliere's classic comedy Tartuffe, playing Nov. 18-21 in the Ely Studio Theatre on the second floor of the Ely Campus Center.
On Thursday evening, Nov. 19, there will be a joint reception in the theatre lobby hosted by the Theatre Arts Program, the Art Department, and the college's Alumni Office beginning at 7:15 p.m. The reception marks the opening of the new Arno Maris Art Gallery and honors internationally acclaimed glass sculptor Tom Patti, whose artwork will be on display.
The reception also marks the opening of the Theatre Arts Program's production and its 2009-2010 season. Prior to the reception, Patti will speak and present photographs of his other works at 6:30 p.m. in the Ely Studio Theatre as part of the college's Guest Lecture Series.
Evening performances of Tartuffe are Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, Nov. 18, 20 and 21 at 8 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8:30 p.m. Two matinee performances on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21 are at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $3 for students and senior citizens, $6 for faculty and staff, and $8 general admission. Tickets are on sale at the Ely Campus Center Service Window and also will be sold at the door. Reservations can be made by calling 413-572-5682. Seating is limited; early reservations and purchases are advised.
Set in Paris in 1664, the production will include period costumes designed by Elinor Parker of the Theatre Arts Program faculty, who also serves as the production's scenic designer.
?Tartuffe is the most famous and most performed play by Moliere, who is widely considered one of the greatest comic playwrights in theatre history,? said director Jack Shea, coordinator of the Theatre Arts Program.
Moliere, the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, wrote during the reign of King Louis XIV in 17th century France. Originally written in Alexandrine verse, this production will feature a new prose translation by Prudence L. Steiner.
Tartuffe is Moliere's best-known work and its themes continue to resonate with audiences today. The play was temporarily banned after it was first performed due to protests from religious clerics who saw the play as an assault on their character.
In a written response that serves as the preface to the play, Moliere said that he used all his art and skills to ?distinguish between the hypocrite and the truly pious man.? It is the task of comedy to correct the vices of mankind, he wrote, and ?in the state the vice of hypocrisy is far more dangerous than all the others . . . displaying vice to the mockery of men deals it a great blow . . . one might be willing to be wicked; one cannot bear to appear foolish.?
The character Tartuffe poses as a pious, religious man in order to dupe the character Orgon into sharing his fortune with him. Orgon's infatuation with this hypocrite's false piety overthrows his reason and blinds him to Tartuffe's machinations that all the other family members can readily recognize.
Tartuffe is also enamored by Orgon's wife, Elmire, and his amorous advances toward her prove to be his undoing. Unfortunately, the unmasking of Tartuffe may be too late, for Orgon's foolishness has placed his freedom and his fortune in dire jeopardy, and only the King can save him. Moliere was highly influenced by commedia dell'arte, a form of performance that was developed during the Italian Renaissance and that has influenced the development of comedy more than any other movement in theatre history. Commedia continues to influence comedy today, as many of its archetypal characters and comic situations find their way into our theatre, film, and television comedies. | 
Home