The play was written in 1664, but belongs to 2026.
“It’s so relevant right now,” says Ethan Stocks, who plays Tartuffe in the new MPC Theatre production of the most famous French play of all time, by Molière. “We just had this crazy election. Some of our leaders behave just like Tartuffe. They present themselves as something they are not.”
Tartuffe is a false prophet who seeks power and material gain. He finds a wealthy man, Orgon (played by Chris Rendon), then inserts himself into his family and finances. He pretends to be a pious man, although he lusts after Orgon’s daughter Elmira.
Monterey Peninsula College Theatre Arts Department Chair Todd Siff also emphasizes on the relevance of the play. “Hypocrisy of people that have positions of power is a really timely issue for us right now,” he says. “There’s a reason why this play is still produced all over the world. It is an issue that has not gone away.”
Siff admires the play’s boldness, especially when it premiered at the court of Louis XIV. “Even though it was this farcical comedy, it challenged the king and the Catholic church,” he says. “It was able to talk about the people in power at the time, look at it from the normal, everyday person’s point of view.”
King Louis XIV, the Sun King, the most self-absorbed of the French monarchs, initially enjoyed Tartuffe, but then changed his mind and started to suppress performances. MPC’s adaptation brings the king back into the picture. He is introduced as a character, sitting on the stage watching the show.
Adapted from the original French into modern English by Miles Malleson in 1950, Tartuffe takes the traditional French verse and updates the language. Stocks, a community player who happens to be an elementary school principal, had the play on his radar since he read it in college.
“It’s a rich character,” he says. “He is the hypocrite and he is the quintessential hypocrite. He seems pious, but is also lecherous and self-serving. He is a seductive rascal.”
Orgon falls for him because “he loves what Tartuffe brings to his life,” Rendon explains on behalf of his character.
TARTUFFE is performed 7pm Thursdays-Saturdays; 2pm Sundays, Nov. 12-22. Morgan Stock Stage at Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey. $22; $12/students, seniors, faculty, industry, military; $7/children; group larger than seven. (831) 645-1360, mpc.vbotickets.com.