Six hilarious satires through the ingenious Molière, France’s original professional of comedies:

The Bungler: In 17th Century Sicily, a smart valet named Mascarille tries to help his boss Lélie win the girl of his dreams…only to find that Lélie is a monumental dunce who ruins all of his intricate schemes. Undaunted, Mascarille invents gradually wilder plots, and then discover his best-laid programs go extremely awry. Performed by: Richard Easton, Adam Godley, Alan Mandell, Christopher Neame, Paula Jane about The Moliere Collection Newman, Darren Richardson, John Sloan, Norman Snow and Kate Steele.

The Imaginary Cuckold: Brian Bedford stars as the enraged husband who imagines his wife is unfaithful, but becomes reluctant to guard his honor within this grand farce of hysterical coincidences, frenzied confusion and mistaken identities – the most widely performed Molière play in his lifetime. Performed by: Brian Bedford, Dakin Matthews, Christopher Neame, Moira Quirk, Darren Richardson, Carolyn Seymour, Alan Shearman and Joanne Whalley.

THE INSTITUTION for Husbands: Sganarelle, a tyrannical old buffoon of the husband-to-be, seeks to isolate his young ward, while unwittingly carrying her messages of devotion to her lover. Meanwhile, his wise brother presents his ward kindness and liberty, and is compensated with her hand in relationship. Performed by: Brian Bedford, Emily Bergl, Dakin Matthews, Juliet Mills, Christopher Neame, Lloyd Owen, Alan Shearman, Rhashan Stone and Olivia Williams.

The School for Wives: With this biting comedy of errors, the hapless Arnolphe is undone by his own twice dealing and twice standards. This play is considered by many to be Molière’s masterpiece, and Wilbur’s simple verse translation illuminates the fantastic master of comedy at his wittiest. Performed by: William Dark brown, Wellesley Chapman, Joe Damour, Kevin Fox, Cheryl Graeff, Judy Greer, Dev Kennedy, Bradley Mott and Larry

Yando.

Tartuffe: Initially banned in by Ruler Louis XIV, Molière’s most famous satire exposes hypocrisy in the Catholic Cathedral. A pious scams manipulates the patriarch of a wealthy family members into giving up his lot of money, and it’s up to his family to expose the truth before they end up in the poor house. Performed by: Brian Bedford, JB Blanc, Daniel Blinkoff, Gia

Carides, Jane Carr, John de Lancie, Martin Jarvis, Alex Kingston, Matthew Rhys and Sarah Zimmerman.

The Misanthrope: Razor-sharp wit inflames a competitive game of success in the salons of 17th century France. Nowadays of “finest performances,” one man’s blunt credibility shatters his society’s delicate internet of manners in what is often considered to be Molière’s Hamlet. Performed by: Harry Althaus, Amy Farrington, Bradford Farwell, Sean Fortunato, David Frutkoff, Kevin Gudahl, Ora Jones, Chad Kelderman, John Reeger, Hollis Resnik, and Larry Yando.