Tony Award-winning director Maria Aitken returns to University of Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players (REP) to stage Tartuffe, Molière’s classic, holier-than-thou comedy of corrupt morality and conniving hypocrisy.

Performances begin Thursday, April 20, and run through Sunday, May 7, in the Thompson Theatre at the University’s Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 302-831-2204 or in person at the REP box office in the Roselle Center for the Arts.

Posing as an overly pious man of the cloth, Tartuffe worms his way into the household of the gullible Orgon in order to swindle him out of his fortune, reputation and daughter. Orgon and his mother fall for the saintly scam, but the rest of the family smells a rat. When Orgon’s wife hatches an ingenious plan to expose the fraud, Tartuffe ups the ante yet again.

“I love playing a supervillain,” says REP actor Mic Matarrese, who plays Tartuffe. “He’s very ego-centric and he’ll do anything to get what he wants. Yet it’s wonderfully satisfying when the audience rejoices as Tartuffe gets his comeuppance.

“Maria Aitken, the director of the production, and I discussed the character before rehearsal began, and we agreed that we didn’t want Tartuffe to reference any person who is currently in the public eye. But there will always be wolves in sheep’s clothing, and I’m sure the audience will see that the play is as relevant today as it was when Molière wrote it.”

Tartuffe runs approximately two hours and five minutes and contains very brief nudity.

REP productions are sponsored in part by the Delaware Division of the Arts.

Schedule and tickets

Tartuffe begins previews on Thursday, April 20, opens on Saturday, April 22 and runs through Sunday, May 7.

Single tickets are $24-$30, with discounts available for seniors, full-time students, military, and groups of 15 or more. For tickets, call the REP box office at 302-831-2204, online or visit the box office in the Roselle Center for the Arts, 110 Orchard Rd, Newark, DE.

A convenient parking garage is attached to the Roselle Center.

A complete schedule, directions and information on purchasing tickets can be found at the website or by calling the REP box office at 302-831-2204.

Special events

Question and answer sessions with the cast of Tartuffe take place following the performances on Thursday, April 27, and Friday, May 5.

Free pre-performance prologues will take place beginning at 1:15 p.m. on March 29 and May 6. Deborah Steinberger, associate professor of French and comparative literature and the director of the Program in Comparative Literature, will discuss Molière and his plays on April 29. Patrick Orndorff, production manager for the REP, will discuss the process of working with scenic designer Hugh Laundwehr and bringing to life his dramatic three-story, French manor house set on May 6.

About the REP

The Resident Ensemble Players (REP) is a professional theatre company located at the University of Delaware. The REP’s mission is to engage audiences throughout the tri-state region with frequent productions of outstanding classic, modern, and contemporary plays performed in a wide variety of styles that celebrate and demonstrate the range and breadth of each resident actor in this ensemble of nationally respected stage actors who have been trained in the same way.

The REP is committed to create future audiences for live theatre by offering its productions at low prices that enable and encourage the attendance of everyone in the region, regardless of income.