NEW ULM – Even though Moliere’s “Tartuffe” has long entered most educated people’s pool of cultural knowledge, many enjoy seeing it again and again; perhaps enjoying the familiar themes, perhaps looking for that special spark that makes each show different.

To such audiences’ delight, the MLC Forum presents the play this weekend. Shows are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 and 21 and 2 p.m. Feb. 22, at the MLC Auditorium.

Written by Moliere in 17th century France, “Tartuffe” is a comedy that shows the ridiculousness of Parisian court life and the difference between hypocrisy and true religious devotion, recaps a synopsis provided to the Journal by producer Haley Roske.

“Winter Play alternates between a drama and comedy each year,” explains Roske. “Since last year’s play was “The Giver,” the Forum Board went in a more light-hearted direction this year with “Tartuffe.” The era of the play also brings something new to the stage; we don’t often do plays set in the 17th century.”

“It’s a classic comedy, and one that’s enjoyable even if you aren’t usually a fan of classic theatre,” adds the director, Jacob Limpert.

“I haven’t really looked into many other productions of “Tartuffe,” so there’s a potential that we’re following someone else’s pattern quite closely,” he continues. “Some of the cast have looked into other shows and pointed out some unique features, at least in comparison to some more recent productions they’ve found video of online. … We’re using a fairly minimal set. The characters are speaking with French accents. We’re actually using the character of Flipote, a non-speaking role, for more than just sitting in the background. In general, we’ve been acting more straight to the script, allowing the comedy that’s written to come out, as opposed to overdoing everything to make up for how ‘boring’ classical theatre is.”

“The decision to use French accents presented the interesting challenge of having to teach a French accent to the cast,” adds Limpert. “Basically this meant I had to teach myself how to do a French accent first. I don’t know how good of a job I did at that, but the cast has definitely taken to the accent.”

“We had some challenges finding costumes appropriate for 17th and 18th century France,” adds Roske. “People don’t have Marie Antoinette-style dresses just lying around. Thankfully, the costuming team has been doing some amazing work!”

Auditions were held on two days, and then from those who auditioned they narrowed it down by casting some characters, and for some characters we held callbacks the next day. After the callbacks we finalized the cast.

Nineteen women tried out for our five female roles, notes Roske. “We saw so much talent; it was hard to choose!” she added.

The cast has practiced for about six weeks.

The intended audience, according to Limpert, is “the MLC family and folks from the New Ulm area.”

“The main concern we’ve had is to not cause the sort of religious controversy ‘Tartuffe” caused when it first premiered in 1664, so we’ve been very conscious of that,” he says. “Some scenes also have the potential to be rather risqu, so we’ve been cautious about how we stage them.”

The play could be enjoyed by almost all ages, but it contains some saucy humor that would be particularly appropriate for high school students and adults, agrees Roske. “We want our audience to have laughed the night away!”

Roske, who has never produced a show before, says this experience was eye-opening for her.

“I never knew how much planning and attention to detail goes into a show, but I love every minute of it. I know this experience will be valuable to me in my future classroom as I organize and plan lessons and events.”

“I’ve been learning better time management, both for myself and in scheduling practices,” adds Limpert. “I’ve also been gaining more experience in managing groups of people, which has been a good skill to learn.”

Cast: Daniel Roemhildt (Tartuffe); Tyler Swiderski (Orgon); Courtney Teeples (Elmire); Matthew Hatzung (Cleante); Libby Adelmeyer (Dorine); Ryan Henning (Valere); Nicole Gawel (Mariane); Jacob Reich (Damis); Hannah Schlomer (Madame Pernelle); Shannon Eggers (Flipote); Gabriel Wildeman (M. Loyal); Shane Bunde (Police Officer).