UTC Theatre Company continues its 2018-2019 season with Jean-Baptiste Moliere’s Tartuffe, tweaking it with a modern twist.
If you go
What: Tartuffe
When: Tuesday, Nov. 13 – Saturday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m.; 2 p.m. Saturday Matinee, Nov. 17
Where: Dorothy Hackett Ward Theater, Fine Arts Center
Admission: $12 adults; $10 faculty, staff, seniors and students
Information: Learn more and purchase tickets at utc.edu/theatre
The stage set’s shiny pink curtains, green carpet and rubber ferns transport the audience to a not-so-distant past, stirring up memories of a 1990s Southern church. But you won’t find a gospel choir singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Directing the company’s production of the 17th-century French classic is 2011 graduate Blake Harris. He returns to Chattanooga after graduating with a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in theatre directing from California Institute of the Arts.
Harris wanted to find a new approach to the classic satirical comedy. Inspired by his own childhood memories in the church, Harris transformed the setting, reframing the story in the Southern gospel scene.
The centuries-old play about hypocrisy becomes more accessible in this familiar setting, Harris says. “People will recognize the context and know these things should not be occurring here.”
The play has seen its fair share of censorship, banned in some countries and considered “dangerous.” But that danger, and the conversations it stirs, makes it ideal for a college campus, explains Evans Jarnefeldt, who portrays Orgon, the play’s central character.
“We’ll get to know why this play has lasted for so long … It’s not just high literature, it’s also great entertainment,” he says.
The creative team for Tartuffe includes Harris, set designer Samantha Burns, costumer designer Chalise Ludlow and(lighting designer and technical director Jeff Davis.
The cast includes Jarnefeldt, Alex Walker, Hailey White, Linsey Watkins, D’Andre Anderson, Meg Phinney, Jesse Wilyat, Autumn Hemmelgarn, Blaine Lindsay, Tate Runyon, Julia Walker, Maggie Weaver and Mark Elich.
