Moliere’s ‘Tartuffe’ as Shouting Match

Something is terribly amiss in Hudson Guild Theatre’s production of Moliere’s “Tartuffe.” The characters are in various shades of white face--from the almost normal pallor of Madame Pernelle (Mae Marmy) to the clownishly slathered thickness of Cleante (Daniel Nathan Spector). They mug, screw up their eyeballs and race around the stage as if escapees from a silent-era film, yet shout most of the dialogue at full volume.

Everything in director Jack Stehlin’s interpretation is horribly miscalculated for overstatement. As the duped Orgon, Stehlin fumes at his insolent servants and rants at his family who see through Tartuffe’s (Robert Cicchini) deception.

Cicchini is a holy man as a rock idol, clad in a long-sleeved black shirt and black pants, baring his hairy chest while sporting a gold chain. He is a slimy pretender, but there is very little subtlety about his pretense.

The delicious possibilities of having a large man play Dorine (Tom McCleister), a red-haired, very buxom servant, are mostly lost. Her large bosom facing off various men at various times is overwhelmed by the atmosphere of slipshod slapstick.

Far worse, Moliere’s nuanced sarcasm is lost under the thunder of yelled verse.

* “Tartuffe,” Hudson Guild Theatre, 6543 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends April 25. $15-$18.50. (888) 566-8499. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.