Jesse Terrill tries Steve Beall’s patience in Journeymen’s sharp production of Moliere’s Tartuffe.

Written by DCist contributor Andrej Krasnansky.

How can a 17th-century play, written entirely in rhyming couplets and aimed at the French aristocracy, be relevant today? The same way even Clinton-era South Park is still enjoyable: Concentrated satire has a long shelf life.

Moliere’s play Tartuffe portrays a rich man, Orgon, taken in by Tartuffe, a sinner wearing the hairshirt of a saint. Orgon places all of his faith and most of his possessions into the hands of the hypocrite, and nothing his family says can convince Orgon that Tartuffe is a sham until it’s almost too late.

Under the direction of Karl Kippola, Journeymen Theater‘s production casts a sympathetic light on Orgon. The character could have been played as a fool, blind to Tartuffe’s mocking misuse. Instead, Steve Beall portrays Orgon as a good man who earnestly believes with all his heart. Beall’s Orgon is strong, sympathetic, and also dignified. There is a conscious choice to treat Orgon kindly, as he could be a stand-in for any person today who has felt duped by religious or political figures.