Broadway and TV alum Matthew Rauch (Junk, Banshee) will star in the titular role of Tartuffe or The Hypocrite this May in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Presented by Molière in the Park in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance and LeFrak Center at Lakeside, the production will be the world premiere of a new English translation of the 17th-century French play by Maya Slater. Free to the public, performances will begin in Prospect Park's LeFrak Center May 6 and run through May 27. Opening night is set for May 11.
Rauch will be joined by Michelle Veintimilla (The Visit, Which Way to the Stage) as Elmire, Kim Awon (Salome), Kaliswa Brewster (Billions), Yonatan Gebeyehu (Merchant of Venice), Keshav Moodliar (Queen), Luis Vega (The Underlying Chris), and Thijs Hogenboom.
Tartuffe or The Hypocrite was originally written by 17th-century French playwright Molière—and was immediately banned by the king of France for exposing the folly of extreme religiosity. This version was reconstructed by Georges Forestier. Molière in the Park’s Founding Artistic Director Lucie Tiberghien will direct the production, helming a creative team including set designer Alex Jourdan, lighting designer Stoli Stolnack, and costume designer Jessica Irvin.
Tiberghien said, “I never thought I’d be able to say Molière in the Park is presenting a new play by Molière. Yet this is what we’re doing, at a time when the two factors that led to the banning and disappearance of the original script have re-emerged in the U.S. with furious energy: censorship and willful denialism."
Visit MoliereInThePark.org.
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