STAGE REVIEWS : Fullerton’s Broad Strokes Fall Short of Substance

The Tartuffe mincing about Fullerton College’s Campus Theatre looks like Morticia Addams, with lank black hair hanging over a lank black frock. Is that funny? Sort of, but the laugh fades away quickly under the production’s strain.

The problem with this revival of Moliere’s “Tartuffe” is that director Pam Richarde goes for broad, broader, broadest whenever she can. Richarde finds a chuckle every now and then but basically misses much of the potential within the bumptious comedy. There’s farce, and then there’s farce.

Robert Dean Nunoz’s Tartuffe, the shifty cleric who would rather chase sex and money over anything divine, is a prime example. After the initial giggle that comes from seeing him, we’re left to the character, and this is when Nunoz’s performance betrays a lack of finesse.

Tartuffe may not demand subtlety at every turn, but he does require a beguiling panache. Nunoz gives us too many wild physical gestures--from grabbing his crotch to show how lusty he is to rolling his heavily made-up eyes every few minutes or so--and not enough imaginative reading of Moliere’s verse.

Most of the other student actors slip the same way, especially Zachary J. Hahn as Orgon, the rich and pious dope who allows Tartuffe to pursue both his money and his wife. Hahn doesn’t bring much more than a series of nervous tics to the role.

On the positive side, Jennelle Soikkeli as that chatterbox of a maid, Dorine, and Nicole Michelle Maringer as Orgon’s wife, Elmire, are both capable. They create genuinely funny moments by keeping their characters a little more in check. When they speak, we can savor something of Moliere’s wit.

Costume designer Becky Wallace (listed as one of only two students on the design-technical side) does a nice job with her period styles, and Daniel C. Torres’ scenery, while sprawling over the large stage, has an elegant veneer.

‘Tartuffe’

A Fullerton College production of Moliere’s farce. Directed by Pam Richarde. With Kim Jones, Trace J. Larson, Angela Capra, Jennelle Soikkeli, Bradford Smith, Stuart Lee Benedict, Robert Shirreffs, Nicole Michelle Maringer, Diane Wilson, Zachary J. Hahn, Austin Lawrence, Robert Dean Nunoz, Vance Vairy Long, Barney W. Evans and Kyle Jones. Set: Daniel C. Torres. Costumes: Becky Wallace. Lighting: Steven Pliska. Makeup and wigs: Sandra Kirn. Sound: Denise Landes. Plays Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Campus Theatre, 321 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. $5 to $8. (714) 871-8101.