TARTUFFE By Molière to be Presented at Portland State University

Deception, false piety, and hypocrisy are at the heart of Molière's scathing comedy, Tartuffe, translated from the original French into English by Richard Wilbur. Presented by Portland State University Theater Arts, the production runs February 27 through March 8, 2025 at Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Avenue, Portland. Opening night is Friday, February 28, at 7:30 p.m.

In this razor-sharp comedy in five acts, the scheming fraudster Tartuffe poses as a man of religious faith to worm his way into the household of the wealthy and gullible Orgon - attempting to steal the affections of Orgon's wife and daughter and seize his property through a potent mix of charm, conniving and sanctimony. The play has remained enduringly popular and relevant throughout its 360-year history (despite being censored by King Louis XIV at the behest of the archbishop of Paris and banned from 1664 to 1669 after a single performance). Sparkling with witty dialogue and set entirely in rhyming couplets, Wilbur's translation of the 17th-century neoclassical comedy gleefully skewers powerful manipulators who claim that their motives are based on benevolence. The play is no less sparing of their counterparts who willingly fall victim to their schemes. In reviewing a production in 2020, Jesse Green of the New York Times observed, "Molière, taking aim at the problem of weak people laying out welcome mats for evil, used uncommonly sharp darts; they pierce us still."

"Tartuffe balances on a razor's edge between danger and delight," said Christine Freije. "It's a profound joy to bring this play to life in 2025, at a time when our political and social landscape is riddled with grifters who hide behind masks of moral superiority and powerful men who enable them."

The creative team for Tartuffe includes Christine Freije (director), Solomon Weisbard (set designer), Jill Catanzaro (lighting designer), Rebecca Ralston (sound designer), Kitty McStay (Costume Designer), Devon Wells (hair/makeup designer), Andie Lafayette (assistant director), and Kristeen Willis (lighting focus/tech mentor).

Christine Freije is a director, deviser, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. Her process is rooted in deep collaboration, experimentation, and play, and her work is informed by an imaginative and expansive feminist lens. Christine's original devised work includes dream-rushes (a wonderland trip) (Theatre Contra) and Shrew (Reject Theatre Project), which was recognized for Excellence in Devised Work by Bonaly Reviews. She is a frequent collaborator of the writer-performer Jimmy Grzelak and the pop star Candy (Martin Levy). She has worked around the country at theaters including Portland Playhouse, Arden Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Redtwist Theatre, Philadelphia Artists Collective, and Theatre Horizon. In spring 2024, she directed PSU's production of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves. She is currently a teaching artist with Spotlight Musical Theatre Academy and an adjunct professor at PSU. She earned her MFA in Directing at The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin ("Molière") was born in 1622 and was educated at a Jesuit institution, earning a degree in law. He would have inherited his father's title of Court Upholsterer, but the young Jean-Baptiste had become fascinated by the theater at an early age and decided to pursue a life of acting instead. In the early years of his acting career, as he toured France, he took the stage name of Molière and penned short comic farces influenced by commedia dell'arte and French verse comedy. He and his acting troupe returned to Paris in 1658, just a few years after Louis XIV had taken the throne. Under the patronage of Louis XIV and his brother, Molière wrote and starred in satirical comedies that fiercely mocked the aristocracy and power structure of the time, including Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The School for Wives. Molière died in 1673, after collapsing on stage while performing in his play The Imaginary Invalid. His theater company, which became the Comedie-Francaise, still exists today and is known popularly as "La Maison de Molière."

About Portland State Theater

The PSU Theater program mounts three productions per year on the stages of two unique theaters in Lincoln Hall. Directed by world-class faculty, these shows provide hands-on experience for students of every focus within the program, from acting to dramaturgy to technical theater.

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