Swindling hypocrites are having a moment this season. Two distinct off-Broadway productions of the 1664 Molière play Tartuffe —in which an ingratiating, self-righteous fraud cons a wealthy French aristocrat out of house and home—bookend each other this month; one production , starring André De Shields, will end its run November 23 at House of the Redeemer on East 95th Street; the other , adapted by Lucas Hnath ( A Doll’s House, Part 2 ; Dana H. ), stars Matthew Broderick and begins previews at the New York Theatre Workshop on the 28th.

The teams behind both shows—which only became aware of each other over the summer—welcome the concurrence. “I believe in the gods of serendipity. That’s not chance. That’s not luck. That is the belief that what belongs to you is on its way to you

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