FRIDAY-NOV. 19

‘Tartuffe’ lands in modern-day island kingdom

“Tartuffe,” one of Moliere’s most famous plays, gets a local twist in a Leeward Community College production starting this weekend.

The play pokes fun at the hypocrisy and influence of religious leaders in 17th-century French monarchy. Although King Louis XIV enjoyed the play, it was banned when religious leaders objected to it. After Moliere rewrote it, it was banned again, but a third version survived and has been translated.

Betty Burdick, an award-winning playwright and director of the production, decided to localize and update the play, dressing the characters in modern clothes and using “a lot of pink” — a reference to the Royal Hawaiian.

“I wanted to place it locally, but of course we don’t have a kingdom,” she said. “I had to imagine a kingdom, Waikiki, ruled by the alii — a parallel universe.”

In the play Tartuffe, a fraud who feigns religious piety, schemes to get himself taken in by a wealthy patriarch, Orgon. This outrages Orgon’s family, but the patriarch is completely fooled, provoking the family to seek a way to reveal Tartuffe’s hypocrisy.

Local audiences might identify with the play, Burdick surmises: “We have this going on now, where people use religion for all kinds of things, good and bad,” she said.

The play is especially notable for Moliere’s intricate, rhyming dialogue, which has been carried over into the translation, posing challenges to Burdick’s actors. “You have to emphasize to the actors that they’re not allowed to make it sound like Dr. Seuss,” she said. “They have to impose the meaning.”

Where: Leeward Theatre, Leeward Community College

When: 8 p.m. today-Saturday and Nov. 17-18; 4 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 19

Cost: $10-$15 (limited seating)

Info: LCCTheatre.hawaii.edu or 455-0380

SUNDAY

Smooth Maori sensations on tour

Get your haka in high gear for the Modern Maori Quartet, a hip, humorous show band from New Zealand.

The quartet — James Tito, Maaka Pohatu, Matariki Whatarau and Francis Kora — originally took to the stage as actors. All of them played music with their parents, so they decided to add music to their stagecraft.

They appear as a Maori Rat Pack, dressing in smart black suits and ties, like Dean, Frank, Sammy and Peter out for a night on the Strip, and blending playful stage antics with music.

Performances showcase the past and present of New Zealand’s music scene, adding a pop element to traditional “waiata” (Maori songs) alongside popular Broadway and pop tunes. After taking New Zealand by storm, they’ve only started touring internationally this year.

Where: Hawaii Theatre

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $37-$52

Info: hawaiitheatre.com or 528-0506

INFO

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