photo by Tim Fuller

The villainous Tartuffe (Matt Walley) tries to work his selfish charms on Elmire (Sophie Gibson-Rush).

First performed in 1664, Moliere's “Tartuffe” couldn't seem more timely if it was first performed last week. The charming Rogue Theatre production directed by Joseph McGrath, working from the translation by Richard Wilbur, is an immediate theatrical delight.

The combination of stage settings, lighting, costumes, wigs and harpsichord accompaniment that compliments Moliere's dialogue written completely in rhyming couplets create a whimsical atmosphere full of Baroque joy and juice.

Not to give away the ending, but Tartuffe is a charlatan masquerading as a Christian who is later caught and disgraced by a sexual escapade. This piece of classic theater may have been written 362 years ago but the title could easily be updated from “Tartuffe” to “Trump.”

The title role of Tartuffe is played by Rogue veteran Matt Walley wearing a black coat of religious piety, always conniving darker plans even as he affects an attitude of devout service to the Lord.

Determined to reveal this scoundrel's true intentions is a delightful Chelsea Bowdren as Dorine, the animated maid who doesn't trust Tatuffe any farther than she can throw him.

The plot's pivot point is Orgon (Aaron Shand), master of an estate much admired by Tartuffe. He also admires Orgon's wife Elmire (Sophie Gibson-Rush).

Shand's performance travels the arc of complex character change from the innocent Christian who believes in Tartuffe's goodness to the crushed and angry landowner realizing too late that Tartuffe is a scoundrel who just bamboozled Orgon out of all his property and wealth.

In that sense the play becomes a duet of intention between defenseless innocence and arrogant guile.

Adding shades of depth in supporting roles are Bryn Booth as Mariane, the daughter of Orgon, very much in love with noble Valere (Hunter Hnat). Christopher Pankratz is Cleante, Orgon's brother in law, while Cynthia Meier sets a defiant tone as Mme. Pernelle, Orgon's angry mother, determined to defend Tartuffe to her family.

While Moliere's rhymed couplets do bring a certain artificial quality to the conversation, save some of your attention for those rhymes. Lots of them are remarkably clever.

“Tartuffe” runs through Sept. 28 with performances Fridays and Saturdays at7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., in the Historic Y, 300 E. University Blvd. Tickets are $49; student rush (when available) $15 with student ID.

Running time is 2 hours 10 minutes, including a 10 minute intermission. For details and reservations, 520-551-2053, or visit TheRogueTheatre.org

As a theatrical performance, the conversations between turbulent Marjorie and mechanical Walter are brilliantly performed. Playwright Jordan Harrison has constructed “Marjorie Prime” so cleverly, and director Christopher Johnson puts so much attention to the most subtle details, we come away believing reality can indeed exist in many shades of imagination.

Completing the cast are Carley Elizabeth Preston and Matt Walley as Marjorie's tense daughter Tess and her goodhearted husband Jon. Tess is equally as mercurial as her mom in abrupt mood shifts. Slipping into middle age Tess faces her own dystopia that she never had a warm relationship with her mother.

Every conversation between the two always ends in a bickering, sputtering argument. For both women, family life exists more in their head than in their hearts. In one series of short bursts, Preston brilliantly leaps from crisis conclusion to crisis combustion.

So we in the audience are left to ponder, does it really matter what happened in the past? Or does what we remember become more important than what actually happened?

ing in various combinations deliver one intense rendition after another filled with their personal hopes for some relief, offering 27 blues flavored pieces straight from the 1930s gut of Depression Era struggles in gritty cities, nearly 100 years ago.

Award winning Sheldon Epps first conceived of this revue in 1980, opening a successful Broadway run in 1982, followed by an equally popular London production in 1987.

Epps found ways to blend the music of such established composers as Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer with the popular blues success of marque names like Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Bessie Smith and others.

From the evergreen favorites “Lush Life” and “Stompin' at the Savoy” to the sly double entendre of “Take Me For A Buggy Ride” to the equally defiant “Wild Women Don't Have the Blues,” no heart left wanting goes unexamined.

Think of this indigo journey as a musical confessional so convincing in its search for sweet release, the capacity audience on opening night at the downtown Temple of Music and Art jumped to its feet in a standing ovation of the joyful discovery to learn what is meant by making it hurt so good.

This remarkable metaphor of a religious experience is carried out in the soaring stage design of Edward E. Haynes Jr. A towering church-like arc is filled with patterned columns that could also represent endless towers of faceless apartment buildings in a shadowy urban setting.

Included in the stage design are setups representing four generic apartments flaunting their ordinariness in cold concern for these star-crossed performers.

Each is given a descriptive title rather than a name. They are: The Lady from the Road (Roz White), The Woman of the World (April Nixon), The Girl with a Date (Camryn Hamm) and The Man in the Saloon (Darryl Reuben Hall). As the titles imply, each of these women represents all women at different stages in their lives.

The man, presumably, stands for all men who end up by themselves in a bar.

There is no dialogue or plot per se but each song is self-contained, telling its own story, adding another chapter to the challenging life of being female.

“Blues in the Night” runs through Feb. 15, with performances at various times Tuesdays through Sundays in the downtown Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Run time is approximately two hours, including intermission.

Tickets are $33-$113. For additional details and reservations, 833-ATC-SEAT (282-7328) or online, atc.org

Gaslight photo by the Gawnes

From left, Todd Thompson as the Phantom has Paris all atingle while Madame Giry (Samantha Cormier) adds comedy relief with a shiver.

A true Gaslight Theatre classic, “The Phantom of the Opera,” has returned in a new production to flaunt its soaring wiles once more across a curtained stage of high notes and evil intentions.

Standing tall as that formally attired man behind the white mask is Todd Thompson, defiantly insisting he is the Angel of Music. He also makes us feel the sadness in this angel's heart, an artistic genius longing to make his unknown ingenue Christine Daae the soaring star of the Paris Opera House.

Christine, the shy favorite of the Phantom, is at first flattered by this ghostly force. But as he becomes more demanding, Christine (Kelly Coates) comes to resent his supernatural powers.

But as every Gaslight regular will tell you, the most truly enduring ghost of this theater is Elvis Presley. So no one is surprised when these Parisian singers and company bust out a populist groove, giving their songs a distinctive 1980s rock 'n' roll beat.

The recipe is irresistible. Peter VanSlyke wrote the original show (based on the novel by Gaston Leroux), now adapted for today's audience by Katherine Byrnes and Mike Yarema. They encourage every campy mannerism imaginable to poke more holes in the pompous attitudes of the arrogant Paris Opera House stars.

Madame Carlotta (Heather Stricker) is the haughty soprano, overflowing with diva conceit She is paired alongside the Great Sorelli (Charlie Hall), a baritone also filled with the fullness of himself.

Delivering her non-singing role with an abundance of insider comedy is Samantha Cormier as Madame Giry, a longtime backstage employee of the Opera House.

Yarema completes the romantic links playing Raul, the Count de Chagny. a patron of the Opera and devoted protector of Christine. The harder the Phantom controls Christine, the more desperately she longs for the strong arms of Raul.

The Gaslight's aftershow olio continues to celebrate 1980s rock with a visit to the Ed McMahon (Charlie Hall) television show, ”Star Seekers.” Tribute performers include Weird Al Yankovic, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Devo.

“The Phantom of the Opera” runs through Nov. 2, with performances Tuesdays through Sundays at the Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd.

Tickets before taxes are $28, with several group discounts, including children ages 2-12. For details and reservations, 520-886-9428, or visit www.thegaslighttheatre.com