MC's Crimson Masque will be performing Moliere's "Tartuffe"

Release Date: November 4, 2003

From left, Mike Wilmoth (Damis), Shannon Fitzjarrald (Elmire), Lisa Adams (Madame Perneille) and Charlie Pippenger (Cleante). In the background are Kat Koelbl (Flipote) and Lindsey Markel (Dorine). Rehearsal Photo Gallery Online

Monmouth College's Crimson Masque will be performing Moliere's "Tartuffe" this Thursday through Sunday in the Wells Theater.

The curtain will open at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday.

“’Tartuffe’ represents the wit and humor of a playwright in his prime,” said director Bill Wallace, professor of communication and theater arts at Monmouth. “Filled with broad physical comedy as well as sophisticated plays on words, the show is a fast-paced, enjoyable evening at the theater.”

Orgon, played by freshman Gregory Malak of Orland Park, is taken in by Tartuffe, a religious “con man” played by Josh Sonnenburg, a sophomore from Portland, Ore. Tartuffe professes to be a moral and upright person, but he is really only interested in free food and drink as well as anything else he can get his hands on. The rest of Orgon’s household sees through Tartuffe’s hypocrisy, but it isn’t until the intervention of the King that everything is happily resolved.

From left, Greg Malak (Orgon), Charie Pippenger (Cleante) and Shannon Fitzjarrald (Elmire).

According to Wallace, “Tartuffe” blends a mix of MC theater veterans and newcomers. Appearing as Madame Perneille, Orgon’s mother, is Lisa Adams, a freshman from McHenry; Flipote, her zany maid, is played by Kat Koelbl, a sophomore from Roscoe; Elmire, Orgon’s long-suffering wife and an object of Tartuffe’s affections, features Shannon Fitzjarrald, a senior from Decatur; and Orgon’s children, daughter Mariane and son Damis, are played by Michelle Anstett, a freshman from Peoria, and Mike Wilmoth, a sophomore from Clinton.

Other characters in “Tartuffe,” many based on the stock comic characters of the Commedia, include the wily servant Dorine, played by Lindsey Markel, a sophomore from Sidell; the young lover Valere, played by Chris Walljasper, a freshman from Donnellson, Iowa; and the resident intellectual Cleante, played by Charley Pippenger, a freshman from Hawthorn Woods. Holly Trotter of Elk Grove Village, a freshman playing a comic turn as the bailiff, and transfer student Bruce Needham of Monmouth, who brings eventual order to the chaos as the police officer, round out the cast.

The scenery and lighting is being designed by Doug Rankin, professor of communication and theater arts. Amanda Caldwell, a senior from Stronghurst, is designing costumes, with Naylene Sager, a sophomore from Astoria, and Lauren Warner, a senior from Naperville, serving as assistant directors. Junior Emily Mitsdarffer of Blue Island is the dramaturg for the production.

The MC production of “Tartuffe” is set in the 1920s and, according to Wallace, has afforded several unique opportunities.

“This fall, the Prairie Players in Galesburg also opened their season with a Moliere comedy, ‘The Imaginary Invalid,’” he noted. “Their production was also set in the 1920s, and our cast had a chance to see their production. They will also visit ours, and the chance to compare should be a valuable educational experience.”

One other feature of the MC production is a proposed reunion of the 1988 “Tartuffe” cast and crew. Invitations have been sent to 1988 participants, and the hope is that on Nov. 8 both groups can share dinner and a reception after the show.

Tickets for “Tartuffe” are $4 for MC students and staff, $5 for other students and senior citizens and $6 for adults. Tickets can be reserved by contacting Wallace at 309-457-2374 or by e-mailing him at billw@monm.edu.