TARTUFFE (2003 - 2003)

(Through Feb. 23) In one corner, there's Brian Bedford -- mainstay at Ontario's Stratford Festival, too-infrequent Broadway visitor, and perhaps contemporary theater's finest interpreter of the classics. In the other, Henry Goodman -- the cream of the U.K. crop, acclaimed in shows from Chicago to The Merchant of Venice, renowned for his well-publicized dismissal as Nathan Lane's replacement in The Producers. These two theatrical heavyweights duke it out in an elegant and often riotously funny revival of Moliere's 1664 verse play. As a well-to-do sucker, Bedford proves unexpectedly poignant; as the titular con man who snookers Bedford out of his house, his fortune, and, nearly, his wife, Goodman is a greasy (and greasy-haired) delight. But the real thief is fabulous J. Smith-Cameron, who, playing a tart-tongued maid, practically steals the show.