Directed by Lucie Tiberghien
Produced by Garth Belcon
Co-presented with French Institute Alliance Française
In Partnership with
Thank you to our major supporters: The de Groot Foundation, Samira Wiley, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Alex and Sybilla Balkanski, Elizabeth and Jonathan Weiswasser, Caroline and Paul Cronson, and The Cultural Services of The French Embassy in New York.
We also want to extend a warm thank you to our donors, volunteers, artists, staff, patrons, and press — who have greatly contributed to MIP's success.
Synopsis
A bible-thumping shark
Makes a deal with a gullible mark.
Mix in money and power,
fleshly sins by the hour
And call it Molière in the Park!
If ever a play, written back in the day, knew exactly with what we’d be dealing.
It’s Tartuffe by Molière, 17th century fare, but the story is truly… revealing.
The New York Times called Molière in the Park's 2020 virtual Tartuffe "revolutionary." With a diverse cast performing in a shimmering oasis under the stars, this in-person Tartuffe will be a celebratory leap into the spring theater season.
Creative Team
Director — Lucie Tiberghien (she/her): A Franco-American Brooklynite, Lucie was raised in France and Switzerland and moved to New York in 1995. It is through her work as associate to acclaimed French director Jacques Lassalle that Lucie developed her passion for Molière’s plays and her belief in his work’s ability to speak to who we are today. Lucie is the Founding Artistic Director of MIP.
Producer — Garth Belcon (he/him): An independent feature film Writer and Producer, and a theater Producer and Production Manager, Garth was raised in the Bronx but has called Brooklyn home for more than 15 years. Garth is honored to be a part of bringing Molière and the funny, biting, brilliant social commentary of his work, to Brooklyn and all of NYC annually. Garth is the Co-Founding Executive Producer of MIP.
Translator: — Richard Wilbur: An American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentlemanly elegance.
Set Designer — Lina Younes (she/her): Lina is a Palestinian Lebanese visual designer based in New York. She is on a constant quest for story-centered collaborations, and exploring narratives while showcasing process. Her work is about freezing moments, replaying them, changing scenarios, playing out consequences, and then repeating. Impossible things happen in an instant; objects vanish, come to life, and are set off again. In motion.
Lighting Designer — Stoli Stolnack
Costumes — Dina El-Aziz (she/her): Off-Broadway: I Thought I Would Die But I Didn’t (The Tank) Eh Dah? Questions for My Father (Hypokrit Theatre/NYTW Next Door) The Russian and The Jew (Anna & Kitty Inc/The Tank), Dead Are My People (Noor Theater/NYTW's Next Door); Field Awakening (Corkscrew Festival); Alternating Currents (The Working Theater); Other theatre: P*ssyC*ck Know Nothing, News Of The Strange, Marjana and the Forty Thieves, Pay No Attention To The Girl (Target Margin Theater). Regional: This is Who I Am (Wooly Mammoth); 9 Parts of Desire (Portland Center Stage); King Lear (Nothern Stage); Noura (The Guthrie); Noura (The Old Globe); Yasmina’s Necklace (Premiere Stages); Selling Kabul (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Pay No Attention To The Girl (Target Margin Theater/Spoleto Festival); We’ve Come to Believe, The Corpse Washer, How to Defend Yourself (Actors Theatre of Louisville/43rd Humana Festival), Heartland (Geva Theatre Center). www.dinae.me
Sound Engineer — Brendan Aanes
Production Manager — Thyra Hartshorn (she/her): Thyra is a Portland, Oregon-based production manager, stage manager and technical director. She is the Production Manager at Portland Playhouse and has toured and worked with companies around the world including San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Bolshoi Ballet.
Production Stage Manager — *Madison Lane (she/her): is thrilled to be working with Molière in the Park again! Previous shows with MIP include: Tartuffe; The Misanthrope (2020); The Misanthrope (2019). Other virtual projects: A Doll’s House Pt. 2 [Stella Adler Studio]; I, My Ruination by Kevin Artigue, Bust by Zora Howard, The Hystericals by Edith Freni, Moses by Michele Lowe [Cape Cod Theater Project]; King Lear [New York Classical]. Thank you for watching and for supporting artists!
Marketing & Advertising— Lisa Lewis (she/her): Lisa Lewis (Marketing Director) is a creative director and marketer who has launched over 100 major entertainment titles for theater, film, TV & cultural institutions including Hamilton, Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theater and Audible Theater. In addition she has directed commercial shoots and voiceovers with talent including Sting, Tom Hanks, Spike Lee, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano, Steve Martin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and many others. www.LisaLewisCreativeDirector.com
Marketing Associate: Nicole Breeden (she/her): Nicole is a digital producer and marketer who has worked with several clients in the Broadway, nonprofit and entertainment advertising space, managing social campaigns, website and app developments.
Press Representative: — David Gibbs/DARR Publicity (he/him): is the founder of DARR Publicity, a boutique press agency specializing in theater, dance, film, music-driven shows and unique theatrical experiences. Clients include The Amoralists, Company XIV, Ice Factory Festival, La MaMa, Molière in the Park, New Ohio Theatre, Pig Iron and PTP/NYC. David has publicized shows at many Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway venues throughout NYC. His clients have won Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Obie and Off Broadway Alliance Awards. www.DarrPublicity.com
Community Advocate/Social Media — Kaliswa Brewster (she/her): Kaliswa is an Actress and Digital Producer who is working as Community Liaison for pen/man/ship. As an actress, she has appeared in Moliére in the Park’s The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and School for Wives. On television she has recurred on Showtime’s “Billions,’ ABC’s “Time After Time,” and Topic’s “Release.” Her film credits include “Paterno: alongside Al Pacino, Paint, and The Bit Player. Kaliswa holds a BA from Whitman College, an MFA from American Conservatory Theater & trained at LAMDA in London. Kaliswa worked closely with Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis at Middle Collegiate Church where she has worked as a Digital Producer, producing antiracism workshops and online events. She is a co-producer on Jacqui’s new podcast, Love Period, produced in partnership with The Center for Action and Contemplation. Kaliswa also produces Black Voices Past and Present, a podcast highlighting black voices throughout history.
Cast and Characters
*Nicole Ansari — Mme PERNELLE: Nicole Ansari is an award winning actor, director, writer and producer. Nicole has worked in different languages all over the world, notably as a company member of the famedTheatre du Soleil under the direction of Ariane Mnouchkine in Paris and on tour as well as played leading roles In repertory in Zuerich and Vienna and the Shakespeare company Berlin (Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac, Queen Elizabeth; The title heroines in Irma la douce, Berenice, Alma and Romy Schneider). She was in the original cast of Tom Stoppard’s “Rock N’ Roll at the Royal Court Theatre and the West end in London as well as on Broadway. Recent leading roles: “Sinners” at the Playground Theatre in London; Daybreak at the Beckett on Theatre row (directed by Lucie Tiberghien) and “I am Antigone” at Theater for a new city. Regional: Marivaux’s “Island of Slaves” at Shakespeare and company; Sinners with Boston New rep; Hamlet; To kill a Mockingbird at GAAR in VT. Current screen work on streaming platforms are the Civil right’s Drama “Son of the South”; the romantic comedy “Remember me” and the Thriller “Last moment of clarity.” Upcoming Films are the comedy “Making the day”; the UK historic Drama “Lawrence after Arabia” and the first US feature Film by world renowned Artist Shirin Neshat called “Land of Dreams” ; which was shot during the pandemic at the end of last year in NM. TV: upcoming “Hit and run” (Netflix); “Little voice” (Apple TV); The Blacklist (NBC) ; The Mysteries of Laura (NBC); and recurring on HBO’s “Deadwood.” Nicole Ansari was recently selected in a Monologue competition of Women writers in NYC for the NSKIP project “Put a woman on a pedestal.” Nicole is a resident director for PS21 in Chatam, NY this Summer. She also started the online community “actors rising.” More Info about Nicole at www.actorsrising.com or on IMDB.
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*Lizzy Brooks - MARIANNE: Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Lizzy is an actor, singer and screenwriter. She has been seen in Diablo Love in SummerStage (Emma Ray Good), Hostages (NBC) and Hairspray (Lil' Inez- RCL). She’s currently a rising 4th year actor at Brown/Trinity Repertory MFA program. Her highlights at B/T include Martha (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf), Undine (Fabulation) and Banquo (Macbeth). Her next project is playing Portia in Julius Caesar at The Hanover Theater in August 2021. She is so excited to join the team of Moliere in the Park!
*Chris Henry Coffey — MR. LOYAL/OFFICER: Chris Henry Coffey is thrilled to reprise his roles in Tartuffe as part of Moliere in the Park’s continued mission to present fresh, new, free theater to the public. Previously he was seen in MIP’s Misanthrope in Prospect park in 2019 and Tartuffe on Zoom in 2020. He has originated roles on & off-Broadway and regionally in numerous world premieres including, most recently, Bekah Brunstetter’s Public Servant on Theatre Row. Some additional standouts include Eric Simonson’s “Bronx Bombers” on Broadway (Circle in the Square and Primary Stages), Neil LaBute’s “Happy Hour” (LaMama), “Water by the Spoonful” (Second Stage), Gina Gionfriddo's “Can You Forgive Her?” (Huntington), Richard Nelson’s “Frank's Home”, directed by Robert Falls (Playwrights Horizons, Goodman), Recent Film & TV: The Good Nurse (upcoming), The Jackie Ryan Story, Master Maggie (TFF, 2019), and Impossible Monsters (2019). Guest-starring and recurring on Chicago Fire, Mrs. Fletcher, Law & Order, (trifecta) Instinct, Good Wife, Cupid & Billy & Billie, among others. Graduate, Yale School of Drama.
*Andy Grotelueschen— ORGON: Broadway: Tootsie (Tony Nomination), Cyrano de Bergerac. Fiasco Theater's Into the Woods, Cymbeline, Imaginary Invalid, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Measure for Measure, and Twelfth Night. NY/Regional: Public/Delacorte, TFANA, Clubbed Thumb, 13P, Ars Nova, The Glass Contraption, New Vic, McCarter, Guthrie, Old Globe, Trinity Rep, Yale Rep, the Acting Company. Film: Here Today, Coin Heist, Ordinary World, Still on the Road, Tumorhead. TV: "Lincoln Rhyme," “Elementary," "The Good Wife," "The Good Cop," "The Knick." MFA Brown/Trinity, Fiasco Theater core company
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*Jared McNeil — CLEANTE: As an actor, Jared McNeill has been a company member of Peter Brook's international company for10 years, touring to New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music with productions of Battlefield and The Suit, and to the Theatre for a New Audience withThe Valley of Astonishment.This is his second time working with Lucie Tiberghien, the first being Rehana Lew Mirza's Soldier Xat the HERE Arts Center. He has also worked at the Roundabout Theatre Company, The Lark, and the McCarter, where he performed in August Wilson's Fences, directed by Phylicia Rashād. As adirector, Jared has served as assistant director on Battlefield, and director ofThe Conductor, whichhe adapted from the novel by Sarah Quigley, and which toured various European countries duringthree years, winning awards of special distinction at festivals in Buxton, UK and Rome, Italy. He iscurrently artistic resident of CultureHub Europe, an arts and technology incubator, where he is working on the Telematic Embrace, an on-going research into the development of narrativetelematic performance possibilities. www.jaredmcneill.com
*Kate Rigg— TARTUFFE: Kate Rigg is an actor comedian and badass Amerasian rapper with the band Slanty Eyed Mama. Before the pandemic you could see her recurring on New Amsterdam and Tales of the City. New York Theater credits include: Dogeaters at the Public, BFE at Playwrights Horizons, Vagina Monologues at the Westside Theater, Zombie Asian Moms at La Mama ETC. Her solo works "Birth of a nASIAN" and "Americasiana" were both invited to the Smithsonian Institute and she has performed her irreverent, political and occasionally foul mouthed comedy at the Montreal Comedy Festival, The Perth International Festival, and on PBS, Showtime, LOGO, Comedy Central and NBC. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School where she won the interarts award. www.katerigg.com
*Carter Redwood — VALERIE: Carter is excited to be back with MiP for Tartuffe! Selected Credits: When January Feels Like Summer (World Premiere - City Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre); Fences (August Wilson Center); and Pipeline (City Theatre). On screen, you can catch Carter recurring in The Long Road Home on National Geographic, Orange is the New Black, NBC’s Rise, and on Blue Bloods. His films have been official selections in Sundance Film Festival, Cannes International Film Festival, and SXSW Film Festival. He can be seen in the critically-acclaimed Premature (Film Independent Spirit Award Nominee), The Transfiguration, and alongside Jennifer Aniston in The Yellow Birds. Carter is a Princess Grace Award winner and graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.
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*Postell Pringle — DAMIS: BROADWAY: A Free Man of Color (Lincoln Center Theater). OFF-BROADWAY: Othello: The Remix (Westside Theatre); The Urban Retreat (The Public Theater); LINDA (Manhattan Theater Club); The Seven (New York Theatre Workshop); Song for New York (Mabou Mines); Hoodoo Love (Cherry Lane Theatre). REGIONAL: OUR DAUGHTERS, LIKE PILLARS (Huntington Theatre); Othello: The Remix and Q Brothers Christmas Carol [co-creator] (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); The Seven (La Jolla Playhouse); The Matchmaker (Goodman Theatre); Long Way Home [co-creator] (Chicago Children’s Choir); Broke-ology (Kansas City Rep); Exposure (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center); King Hedley II (American Stage). FILM: 30 Miles from Nowhere; Unknown Soldier; The Hudson Tribes. TELEVISION: FX’s “Rescue Me”; CBS’ Unforgettable; NBC’s Law & Order and L&O: Criminal Intent. PLAYWRIGHT/COMPOSITION: Q Brothers Christmas Carol, Long Way Home, Rami & Jaliyah, ms. estrada and Rome Sweet Rome. EDUCATION: BA in Theatre from Bates College; conservatory at RADA. Other: Postell is a music producer/rapper with 9 albums and mixtapes. His brand new full-length album, Hot Sauce from Hell, is available now on postell.bandcamp.com. As a member of Q Brothers Collective, he’s a playwright, composer, and director of choreography. Pos is a member of the Chicago band The Rap Pack (fka The Retar Crew; YouTube). postellpringle.com @posLuv
*Marjan Neshat— ELMIRE: Marjan Neshat’s theater credits include Selling Kabul at Williamstown Theater, Joan by Stephen Belber (Colt-Coeur), t Julius Caesar (NYSF), The Three Sisters Project, Queens by Martyna Majok, Scorched, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Seagull (CSC). Film: the upcoming Love 40, Chromophobia, Almost in Love, Robocop, The Book of Henry, Sex in the City 2, First Person Singular, among others. TV: she is currently recurring on the upcoming For Life for ABC, has recurred on Quantico, Strangers and Rescue Me and has Guest Starred on multiple shows such as Bull, Elementary, Royal Pains, Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, Law & Order and many others. Member of The Actors Center.
*Jennifer Mudge — DORINE: can be seen right now in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman and the indie features Nostalgia and Twelve. She most recently appeared onstage in the world premiere of Will Eno’s The Plot at Yale Rep, directed by Oliver Butler. She also appeared as the Witch in Into the Woods for Fiasco at the Roundabout (nominee, Lucille Lortel Award), and the first New York revival of Dutchman (nominee, Drama Desk Award). Upcoming independent features: The Drummer, opposite Danny Glover and Beautiful Dreamer. Broadway: Rocky, The Philanthropist, Reckless. West End: The End of Longing. Off-Broadway: Roundabout, MTC, LaMama, Playwright’s Horizons, Fiasco, MCC, Atlantic, Naked Angels, Rattlestick, Primary Stages, as well as various regional theaters. Other Film/TV: My America by Hal Hartley, recurring roles on "Shades of Blue" (NBC) and season 1 of “BOSS” (Starz); “Elementary”, “Instinct”, “Gone”, among many guest stars. She was the 2007 recipient of the Marian Seldes/Garson Kanin Fellowship from the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
*Denotes member of the Actors Equity Association (AEA)
We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Union:
AEA for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program
Who We Are
MIP's Mission
We believe provocative and high caliber theater performed in public spaces and available to all, has the power to unite communities. It affords everyone who wishes to participate, an opportunity to reflect, rejoice, see each other, and share. Moliere in the Park was born out of the desire to meet Brooklynites in their backyard and offer a space, within an already wonderfully rich park, where all would feel invited to take part.
Molière in the Park is an inclusive and antiracist theater organization. Our mission is to bring high-caliber English language productions of Molière’s timely masterpieces, as well as carefully chosen contemporary plays that focus on language and question today's world through the lens of history, to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park annually, and the online theatergoing community, free of charge.
LeFrak Center at Lakeside
The Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside is the largest and most ambitious project in Prospect Park since its creation nearly 150 years ago. Spanning 26 acres, this $74 million restoration by the Prospect Park Alliance transformed the southeast corner of the Park into a popular scenic and recreational destination. Since opening in 2013, the LeFrak Center has become a year-round community destination welcoming more than 200,000 visitors each year.
Prospect Park Alliance
Prospect Park Alliance is the non-profit organization that sustains "Brooklyn's Backyard," working in partnership with the City of New York. The Alliance was founded in 1987 to help restore Prospect Park after a long period of deterioration and decline. Today, the Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas, restores the park's buildings and landscapes, creates innovative park destinations, and provides free or low-cost volunteer, education and recreation programs.
The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) is the leading French language and cultural center in the U.S. FIAF’s mission is to create and offer New Yorkers innovative and unique programs in education and the arts that explore the evolving diversity and richness of French cultures. We seek to generate new ideas and promote cross-cultural dialogue through partnerships and new platforms of expression. FIAF is an American, private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3), non-governmental organization incorporated in the state of New York. Learn more at fiaf.org.