We take a look at what is being said about Lucas Hnath‘s new version of Molière‘s play, starring Matthew Broderick.
The New York Times: “A more traditional production might have switched the actors playing the two men, considering Broderick’s and Cross’s styles, but the counterintuitive casting keeps the show on its toes. In fact, casting in general is the ace in the director Sarah Benson’s sleeve as the company ably navigates Lucas Hnath’s fluid, if sometimes unnecessarily profane, verse adaptation of this classic 17th-century French comedy. (Admittedly, I did shudder hearing Hnath rhyme “Tartuffe” with words like “goof” since it should be pronounced with a hard “u” sound.)”
Observer.com: “At New York Theatre Workshop, it’s style without substance—which Molière mocked in the first place.”
New York Stage Review: ** “The design team, at least, seems to have discerned the professed intentions and followed through with élan. The scenic collective that calls itself dots has pared the script to its essence and given us the barest essentials in heightened mode. Here we have a wide, classy, classic petit salon, with two doors for farcical sorties; a large wardrobe against the wall, for hiding and eavesdropping; and little more other than a wide but functional purplish table, suitable for seduction. The set serves in identical manner to the dots design for Oh, Mary!, although similarities between the plays—and the effect on playgoers—end there.”
Theatre Mania.com: “Tartuffe benefits from an exceptional supporting cast, the kind of actors who could sell snow boots in Tahiti. Bianca Del Rio warms up the audience as Mme Pernelle, Orgon’s judgmental mother, a role that fits the insult comic like an opera glove. Low-key exasperated, Francis Jue easily takes ownership of Cleante, Orgon’s brother and the voice of reason. Even wiser is the maid Dorine, whom Lisa Kron plays as a no-nonsense lesbian in sensible sneakers. Her line readings are as dry as a good white wine. On the other end of the spectrum is Orgon’s son Damis, played by Ryan J. Haddad with soap-operatic flair. I particularly enjoyed the relish with which he burst forth from the closet after catching Tartuffe in the act.”
New York Theatre Guide: “It doesn’t help that the company is inconsistently prepared for the challenge. Francis Jue and Ikechukwu Ufomadu lean into the wordplay and the performative schtick (aided in part by a fabulous quick-change), while others feel uncertain and unsettled.”
Attitude.co.uk: **** “Hnath’s Tartuffe feels modern, sharp and confidently observed. Anchored by Broderick and bolstered by a cast that largely shines, this adaptation honours Molière’s bite while speaking directly, and uncomfortably, to the present moment.”
Exeuntnyc.com: “It’s the best stage performance I’ve seen Broderick give in many years. The production capitalizes on his off-kilter energy to upend our notions of who Tartuffe is and his soft-spoken tone is, in its own way, a heightened style of acting. This was the first time I’ve seen a Tartuffe that made me miss Tartuffe when he wasn’t onstage, a feat all of its own.”
Talkin’ Broadway: “Molière’s verities about religious flummery endure, and the deus-ex-machina ending is still the satisfying culmination of what we’d like to see happen to anyone with a Bible in one hand and a bag of self-serving tricks in the other. I smiled through a lot of this Tartuffe. But with a more unified cast, stronger direction, less vulgarity–and, please God, better rhymes–it could have been a laff riot.”
To find out more about the production visit: https://www.nytw.org/show/tartuffe/