INTERVIEW: Emily Davis interprets Mariane in Molière’s ‘Tartuffe’
Photo: Tartuffe features Emily Davis and Ikechukwu Ufomadu. Photo courtesy of Marc J. Franklin / Provided by The Print Shop PR with permission.
Molière’s Tartuffe has been having something of a banner year in New York City. The show was revived in late 2025 with André De Shields taking on the title role, and now the New York Theatre Workshop is presenting a new version by Lucas Hnath and starring Matthew Broderick.
The NYTW production, directed by Sarah Benson, continues through Jan. 25.
One of the key roles in this play centered on hypocrisy is Mariane, performed by Emily Davis, an actor perhaps best known for her work in Broadway’s Is This a Room. She recently exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox and opened up about her unique take on the role and what it’s like working with Benson. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How do you approach the character of Mariane?
I think of Mariane as porous and deep-feeling and someone who represses none of that feeling. Her experiences of sensation and the experiences of those around her float on the surface. She’s like a reflecting pond in that way; her reactions amplify the larger story. All the crannies of her storyline give me this sort of undulating wave of feeling to ride that never really subsides. It’s great fun to ride the seesaw of great duress and euphoric expression! She’s got it all.
Does the comedy of the piece come easy to you?
Nothing about giving a comedic performance comes easily to me, but I hope it looks like it does. I will say that the camaraderie of this cast has given the whole process a particular ease and lightness that I imagine sneaks into our performances.
What’s it like working with Sarah Benson as a director?
Sarah sets a nice room tone by subtly building around the actor’s instincts, instead of being prescriptive. It’s a yes and kind of vibe that then yields, I think, lots of “keeper” moments that she can then be exacting about slotting into the scene. It’s really a satisfying exchange of ideas and questions about how performance choices are translating and functioning in the scene. Lotta laughin’. With this group in particular, some of the little bits we put in were so hammy, we just had a running joke of “how long until this gets cut,” “this bit has lived to see another day,” etc.
Do you look back with fondness at your time in the revolutionary play Is This a Room?
Of course. A life-changing art experience that was the culmination of many years of creating with one of my favorite collaborators, Tina Satter. I believe it is a testament to what can happen when you trust audiences’ appetites for more experimental fare, and stay the course with work that is rigorous and uncompromising in its vision — when you make things the way you know they need to be made, with the people with whom you know you need to make it.
What’s it like working at a respected off-Broadway institution like New York Theatre Workshop?
Backstage at the Workshop every show that’s been there over the past many years is commemorated on the walls near the dressing rooms with these homemade homages. It’s an intimate backstage, and endearingly so. You look around and realize the full breadth of artists who have been there pacing those hallways, drinking that coffee, glued to the monitors. We all show up and dust our snowboots and say hi in the rec room before donning our gigantic costumes. It’s a routine, and not an unpleasant one.
There’s so many people working on the design side of this show helping us look and sound our best, so it’s really a quiet flurry of activity for the duration of the show. Sometimes I sit backstage and close my eyes and listen to the little muffled bits of laughter coming from the wig station or from my cast mates sitting nearby, a pretty choice soundscape.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Tartuffe, featuring Emily Davis, continues through Jan. 25 at the New York Theatre Workshop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
