Tartuffe

  • written by Molière
  • Translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur
  • directed by Richard Baird
  • scenic design by Marty Burnett
  • costume design by Elisa Benzoni
  • lighting design by Matt Novotny
  • sound design by Ian Scot
  • production stage management by Vernon Willet
Adult Language
Sexual Situations and Themes
Violence
Fun for the Whole Family

Description

For years, Laguna Playhouse has been making audiences laugh with a wide variety of comedies, now they deliver one of most enduring comedic masterpieces of all time! This astonishingly clever adaptation bursts with fun as the charlatan Tartuffe worms his way into a wealthy family causing disruption and pandemonium. With wicked precision and brilliantly rhyming verses, this highly satiric comedy skewers religious hypocrisy, duplicity, lust, and self-inflicted chaos. Anyone who loves watching a fraud get his due will revel in this classic comedy!

Run time: About 2 hours, 20 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission

Post-Show Talkback: Friday, April 26, following the 7:30 pm show

REVIEWS

"Eternal crowd pleaser...(translator Richard) Wilbur’s modern language version is joyful alchemy... wit coming served with easily understood punchlines." - Orange County Register

"We relate to Tartuffe. It’s accessible...we’re laughing at human folly...Laguna’s production is rife with many delicious moments." - Newport Beach Independent

"Tartuffe soars!...religious hypocrisy at its finest and funniest...fast paced and well-directed." - Stage Raw

"A brilliant success...one of those rare instances in which the greatness of the play unites with a faultless cast and masterful staging to produce a genuinely memorable theatrical and dramatic experience." Stage and Cinema

"Funny never goes out of style" - San Diego Tribune

"...beautifully produced, witty, satirical, and delightfully funny play." - The North County Daily Star and The Vista Press

"Fires on all cylinders thanks to a whip-smart cast and inspired direction." - Culture Vulture

"(Director Richard) Baird knows about timing and how to get the most laughs per line. Don't miss this production. - San Diego Stage and Screen

"Two thumbs up...for a scrumptious day/evening of theatre. It doesn't get much better than this." - Carol Davis, Critic

"The opportunity to see a classic like this fully staged should not be passed up." - From Another 0

Shanté DeLoach
Mariane
Biography »
Shanté DeLoach

Shanté DeLoach (she/her) is delighted to be making her Laguna Playhouse debut! By way of Tucson, Arizona, she is a graduate of AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and now splits her time between Los Angeles and Atlanta. She is the Administrative Director of Eleventh Story Productions, a company focused on producing diverse and enigmatic stories, and she is ½ of 6 Feet Forever, a podcast that delves into unsolved crimes and mysterious happenings in communities of color around the globe. Most recent credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Mountaintop, the film Honk for Jesus, Save your Soul, and Triggered, a film she acted in and produced that is currently making its festival rounds. Love to my family and friends, to Ebb and Erika for helping with my audition, and to YOU for supporting live theatre! Enjoy the show ♥️

Rogelio Douglas III
Damis
Biography »
Rogelio Douglas III

ROGELIO DOUGLAS III (Damis) is humbled to be making his debut appearance at Laguna Playhouse! RD3 is a Black/Afro-Latino multi-hyphenate artist: actor, spoken-word poet, educator. Born and raised in Brooklyn; now resides in LA. Earned his M.F.A. in Acting from UCLA TFT. Theater credits include: The Talented Tenth (Robey Theatre), The Inheritance (Geffen Playhouse), Picnic (Odyssey Theatre), Measure for Measure, Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare by the Sea) and more. Onscreen credits include: “They Listen” (Blumhouse Prods.), “Space Lightning,” “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Bull,” and dubbing English for “Rhythm + Flow France”. Proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. | @RogelioDouglas3

Bo Foxworth
Orgon
Biography »
Bo Foxworth

BO FOXWORTH (Orgon) With Laguna Playhouse: Bright Ideas and The Verdi Girls. Bo is a proud member of the Antaeus Theatre Company in LA and could be seen in numerous productions including: Cloud 9 (LADCC and Stage Raw Best Actor Winner), and The Crucible (Ovation nomination). Other theatre’s include South Coast Rep, The Pasadena Playhouse, I.C.T., The Fountain Theatre, Shakespeare Orange County, The Skylight Theatre, Ensemble Theater Company, La Mirada, The Geffen, Disney Hall, LATheatreWorks, Boston Court Pasadena, The Hollywood Bowl and A Noise Within (2 Ovation nominations). New York and Regional theaters include: The Lucile Lortel, The Century Theater, The Pearl Theater, The Shakespeare Theater D.C., Vienna’s English Theater, The Long Wharf, Baltimore Center Stage, Playmakers Rep, The Old Globe, The Yale Rep and many others. He has numerous film and television credits including Modern Family, VEEP and the HBO movie All The Way. He is a graduate of UCLA and Yale School of Drama.

Katie Karel
Dorine
Biography »
Katie Karel

KATIE KAREL (Dorine) is so happy to be making her Laguna Playhouse debut with Tartuffe. Off Broadway: Lucky Duck, National Tour: Menopause the Musical 2, with North Coast Rep: Tartuffe, Pippin, The Remarkable Mr. Holmes, Always...Patsy Cline, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Sherlock Holmes & The Great Nome Gold Rush, Selected Regional: Skylight, Indecent, The Humans, Chesapeake, You Can’t Take It with You, Valhalla, Heathers, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Into the Woods, The Addams Family, Sunday in The Park With George, Sweeney Todd, 1776, In Trousers, a few Hairsprays and a couple more Patsy Clines. Her thanks to everyone at Laguna Playhouse, and to the cast and creative team. Love to Gary. Karel is passionate about her mentorship with LLS, Imerman Angels, and Friend for Life Cancer Support Network as a survivor. Connect with Katie at www.katiekarel.com

Melanie Lora
Elmire
Biography »
Melanie Lora

MELANIE LORA (Elmire) Laguna Playhouse: Many Happy Returns. North Coast Rep: The Homecoming, Into the Breeches A fairly recent transplant from Los Angeles, other LA/SoCal credits include The Hothouse (Antaeus Theatre Co), Of Good Stock (world premiere), Elemeno Pea, Misalliance, and Collected Stories (South Coast Rep), Dinner with Friends, and Boeing Boeing (La Mirada Theatre), The Good Book of Pedantry and Wonder (Theatre@Boston Court) as well as productions at the Actors’ Gang, Ahmanson Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, The Odyssey Theatre and many others. Film/TV: “Show Me Yours,” “Fishhead,” “I am I,” “The United States of Leland,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Numbers,” “Gilmore Girls” and others. Lots and lots of tv commercials and voiceover work. Mom to four incredible humans. More at melanielora.com @missmelanielora

Kate Rose Reynolds
Flipote/Police Officer/Laurent
Biography »
Kate Rose Reynolds

KATE ROSE REYNOLDS (Flipote/Police Officer/Laurent) is a multihyphenate theatre maker, and the Director of Operations for Loud Fridge Theatre Group. Recent Southern California performance credits include: Iron (Roustabouts, SD Critic’s Circle Award for Featured Performance); Witchland (Backyard Renaissance); The Humans (San Diego REP); Cardboard Piano (Diversionary). Elsewhere: Hamlet, Twelfth Night (Perspective Theatre Company, SF); The Academy (Theater for the New City, NYC); and over 15 productions with Bristol Valley Theatre in upstate New York, including Silent Sky, Mary’s Wedding, and Private Lives. She also stars in the independent horror film “Soul to Keep,” currently streaming on Amazon Prime. www. katerosereynolds.com.

Rosina Reynolds
Mme. Pernelle
Biography »
Rosina Reynolds

ROSINA REYNOLDS (Mme. Pernelle) Selected regional credits include: Here There Are Blueberries. (La Jolla Playhouse) Sea of Tranquility, Romeo and Juliet, Trojan Women, (Old Globe Theatre), 33 Variations (Theatreworks). Love In American Times (San Jose Rep), Steel Magnolias (La Mirada Theatre), San Diego Theatre: Favorites include. Iron. (Roustabouts Theatre): Angels in America, Hayfever, The Vortex, The Glass Menagerie, Arcadia, Little Foxes, Copenhagen (Cygnet Theatre) Golda's Balcony. (New Village Arts): Uncanny Valley, Doubt. (San Diego Rep) Wit, (North Coast Repertory Theatre), Lettuce & Lovage, (Lambs Players Theatre) Long Days Journey Into Night, (Renaissance Theatre Company.) Director of over 30 productions. Founding Artistic director of Chequamegon Children’s Theatre now in its 37th year.

Bruce Turk
Tartuffe
Biography »
Bruce Turk

BRUCE TURK (Tartuffe) Broadway and Off Broadway credits include the title role in Julie Taymor’s production of The Green Bird and numerous appearances with Theatre For A New Audience. San Diego audiences have seen him in fifteen productions of Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theatre (Craig Noel Award). Also, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, ACT, Pasadena Playhouse, Seattle Repertory, McCarter Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Denver Center, Geva, Cincinnati Playhouse, Goodman, the Shakespeare Theaters in DC, New Jersey and Santa Cruz, and many more. He has been a resident member of Tadashi Suzuki’s Acting Company in Japan, Resident Artist at Hartford Stage, and recipient of the TCG/Fox Fellowship for Distinguished Achievement. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Jared Van Heel
Valere/M. Loyal
Biography »
Jared Van Heel

JARED VAN HEEL (George) is thrilled to be returning to Laguna Playhouse after appearing as Valére/M. Loyal in Tartuffe earlier this year. San Diego audiences may have previously seen him in eight productions of Shakespeare at The Old Globe. He has toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. Off-Broadway credits include Hamlet and The Awesome 80s Prom. Select Regional credits include Tartuffe (Laguna Playhouse), The Liar, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Texas Shakespeare Festival); The Trip to Bountiful, Frankenstein Unplugged, Betty’s Summer Vacation, Cyclone, and Breach (Montana Repertory Theatre); Antony & Cleopatra (Harlequin Productions), American Midget (Trembling Stage), Twelfth Night (MadCap Productions), and others.

Christopher M. Williams
Cleante
Biography »
Christopher M. Williams

CHRISTOPHER M. WILLIAMS (Holmes #3) is an actor, director, producer, stage manager, teacher and fight choreographer. Select acting credits include: Off Broadway: Rothschild and Sons (The York). Regional: Tartuffe (Laguna Playhouse); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Tartuffe, Dancing Lessons, The Outsider, How the Other Half Loves, Holmes and Watson, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, The Tempest, Don’t Dress for Dinner (North Coast Rep); A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Drawer Boy (AZ Theatre Co); Noises Off!, Comedy of Errors (Phoenix Theatre); Noises Off! (Idaho Shakes); Angels in America: Part 1 & 2, Lobby Hero (Actors Theatre); Beau Jest, Jest a Second (AZ Jewish Theatre); Hamlet, A Funny Thing...Forum, Oliver!, Julius Caesar, Othello, Henry V, (SW Shakespeare). On screen credits include: “Terriers,” “The Incredible Adventures of JoJo,” “Island of Lost Girls.” He also played Jacob and was a producer of the WWII feature film, “Walking with the Enemy,” starring Ben Kingsley and Jonas Armstrong

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