More than three centuries after it was first performed, "Tartuffe" remains one of Moliere’s most popular comedies. Joyce Maltby, director of theater at Hawaii Pacific University, takes a questionable gamble with her revival but stays true to the premise.

Tartuffe, a greedy and ruthless man who pretends to be deeply pious, has insinuated himself into the household of a wealthy and gullible merchant named Orgon. Most of the household sees Tartuffe for what he is, but nothing shakes Orgon’s belief that Tartuffe is a noble and misunderstood man who is an innocent victim of others’ lies and jealousy.

Moliere’s incisive comedy is a cautionary tale about the danger of being misled by people who appear to be beyond reproach. Maltby and Rob Duval (Tartuffe) choose to rework it as a two-dimensional farce. They take a bizarre characterization of Tartuffe to such extremes that it is impossible to see Moliere’s wily con man as anything other than an off-putting mental case. With that, Orgon’s unwavering faith in Tartuffe loses any possible plausibility and becomes nothing more than a requirement of the plot.

How bizarre is their take on Tartuffe? Duval wears a fat suit and a ratty wig that makes him look like the late Herbert "Tiny Tim" Khaury on a very bad hair day. He speaks in an odd singsong voice, contorts his face into weird expressions and periodically strikes odd poses. The impact of all this on Moliere’s story is reminiscent of Maltby’s equally problematic 2012 production of Oscar Wilde’s 19th-century classic, "The Importance of Being Earnest." In "Earnest," she had a man play one of the major female characters and then ramped up the needless distraction caused by cross-gender casting by engaging in the same type of consistently annoying exaggeration and clowning about that mars "Tartuffe."

BOTH productions were more about the scene-stealing performance of the "star" actor than about doing justice to the playwright’s work. Wilde didn’t need that schtick in 2012. Moliere doesn’t need it in 2013. Other members of Maltby’s cast prove the point.

Maltby’s daughter, Melinda Maltby (Elmire) does an outstanding job in the scenes where Tartuffe tries to seduce his benefactor’s wife. Another daughter, Becky Maltby, is a spark plug in several scenes playing the spunky outspoken servant Dorine, who rallys the resistance to Tartuffe’s schemes.

HPU senior Miina Huotari is charming as Orgon’s sweet young daughter Mariane. It is a memorable role for Huotari, and she has a talented leading man in fellow senior Nick Barnum (Valere). The pivotal scene where Mariane and Valere have a major spat — he thinks she wants to marry Tartuffe, she thinks he’s OK with it — is beautifully played.