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A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

After a turbulent two decades of social upheaval and financial strain, the nation’s pendulum swung in strange ways as it entered the 1980s. Pop music was pumping, pushing the boundaries; technology infused the music, but artists like Madonna and Prince, and hair metal bands like Twisted Sister and KISS, played with gender norms and expressed sexuality without restraint. However, American culture and politics turned hard to the right. 

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Ronald and Nancy Regan rode the way to the White House on conservatism, with Republicans cutting,  deregulating, and privatizing everything they could. The Gordon Gekkos abounded, exploding white collar industries that made some people very, very wealthy. They led luxurious and extravagant lifestyles, replete with flashy clothing and art collections. A new breed—the Yuppie—typified upward mobility in the workforce and new money. It was an era of extravagance. 

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Weirdly, despite what a certain carpenter may have said about a camel and a needle, American Christianity fell into the “prosperity gospel” during this decade. If God rewards the faithful with material wealth, surely those with the most wealth are the most faithful. The evils of the world were externalized to literal Satan, who allegedly had a grip on Dungeons and Dragons players and preschool teachers. This breed of Christianity ensured that people and systems and governments weren’t capable of evil, but that Satan was nearby ruining lives—and that the truly pious were the ones who could succeed in spite of him. 

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Televangelism was a natural fit to the era. Led by figures like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and faith healers like Peter Popoff, the blending of wealth and faith pedaled a dangerous ideology that enabled greedy, vile people to thrive. (For those interested, I strongly recommend watching James Randi on Carson’s Tonight Show expose Popoff’s use of a radio earpiece!)

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These are the types of religious figures Molière was satirizing three centuries earlier. 

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In the 1660s, “Sun King” Louis XIV was leading France in extravagance. The Versailles we know today was in progress, a few decades away from being finished. Mercantilism sought to generate as much wealth for the state as possible, and the King’s court was vast and lived a regimented life of theatre, balls, dinners, and hunting. Life was grand for the court of Versailles, but in 1664, one of those plays performed for the King caused quite a stir. 

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Molière’s Tartuffe was initially suppressed by the King—who admittedly enjoyed it but claimed that, although Molière had good intent in his satire, the play was a little too incendiary towards Christianity. Molière rewrote it twice, with the third version serving as the base for modern translations, and intended to refine his work to more specifically target the greedy, falsely pious figures. 

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However, the longer I spent with these characters, the more I realized how all of them manipulate or force others to their will. There isn’t just one hypocrite here. 

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Tartuffe is an incredible satire, with a wealthy family dealing with the veneer of piety, a con artist using religion as a cover to line his pockets, and a Rex ex Machinae saving the day and restoring the family’s power. 

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Sounds pretty tubular to me! The 1980s were a natural fit. Although I hadn’t been born yet, I became obsessed with the decade in my preteen years after repeatedly rewatching the VH1’s One-Hit Wonders special of the decade. The tension between this campy, flashy, provocative music and social values of the time always struck a chord with me. When I then came across Tartuffe, it all just fell into place and the 80’s fantasy started blooming. 

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It was most excellent putting this production together, but I truly could not have done it alone. To Jess, Noah, Jill, and the rest of the production team, thank you for going along with my craziest ideas, and talking me out of the worst. To the cast, thank you for being willing to try something new and for bringing the best of you every day. To Carl, Susan, Sammi, and the rest of The Company Theatre Board, thank you for such an incredible opportunity in such an incredible group. (And thank you for putting up with my terrible email habits!) Lastly, to Beth and Tyler, for getting me here. 

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– Brodie McPherson, Director and Company Theatre Technical Director