by Michele Markarian
‘Othello’ – Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Bill Rauch. Scenic Design by Christopher Acebo; Costume Design by Dede M. Ayite; Lighting Design by Xavier Pierce; Composer & Sound Designer, Andre J. Pluess; Projection Design by Tom Ontiveros. The American Repertory Theater presents the Oregon Shakespeare Festival production at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St. Cambridge through February 9.
“This is wonderful, isn’t it?” “Terrific!” was the buzz on the stairs to the restroom during the intermission for Othello, currently playing at A.R.T. People sounded pleased and slightly surprised. Not because it was good – who doesn’t like, or pretend to like, Shakespeare? – but because it was so stunningly good. We weren’t watching a play, we were immersed in it.
Like Shakespeare’s other tragedies, Othello isn’t fun. At the heart of the play lies the relationship between Othello (the dulcet-toned Chris Butler), a Moor and a general in the Venetian army, and Iago (Danforth Comins), his soldier. Iago is seething with jealousy – Cassio (Derek Garza) has been promoted to lieutenant, a position Iago believes he should have. Othello has also secretly married the Duke of Venice’s (a dignified Richard Elmore) beautiful daughter, Desdemona (Alejandra Escalante), during a time when marriage of interracial groups was frowned upon. “…I never found a man who knew how to love himself”, Iago tells Roderigo (an excellent Stephen Michael Spencer), a young wastrel in love with Desdemona. One can only assume Iago is also talking about himself, and this, coupled with his mantra of “I hate the Moor”, leads to the plotted unraveling of the guileless Othello, a stranger in a strange land, and by association, Desdemona and Iago’s own wife, Emilia (Amy Kim Waschke).
It’s heartbreaking to watch, made more so by the fresh immediacy of the acting. “I kept hoping Othello would change his mind,” said a friend to me afterwards, even though he’s seen the play before. Director Rauch expertly drives the play forward with a steady hand, knowing when to pick up speed and when to savor a scene. Othello is three hours and fifteen minutes long, but really, you don’t even notice, which, for this reviewer, hasn’t happened since a long ago production of “Three Sisters” (four hours) at the very same theater. It’s also heartbreaking because nothing has really changed since it was written in the 17th century. When Iago utters “I hate the Moor”, it conjures up images of the violent, destructive bigotry that possesses the worst part of a certain contemporary powerful man’s base. And the women! Bianca (the magnetic Rainbow Dickerson), lover of Cassio, is repeatedly called “whore”. Desdemona, even after being whacked in the face by her jealous husband, walks away in the hopes that he’ll call her back. Then there’s Emilia, poor thing, who is loyal to her mistress Desdemona as well as her scheming, lying husband, even as she declares of men, “They are all but stomachs, and we all but food. To eat us hungerly, and when they are full, they belch us.” Yup. Indeed, there’s something loutish, almost frat boyish, about the way the men regard the women, who seem resigned to their fate.
Danforth Comins is terrifying as Iago. It’s not that he’s nefarious – he’s soulless. In between playing the obsequious, trusted friend and the hale and hearty good ole’ boy, Comins’s affect is that of someone who is completely and utterly devoid of feeling or character. His remorselessness at the destruction of innocent lives – including that of his wife’s – is chilling, particularly in the final tableaux. All of this is played out against Christopher’s Acebo’s magnificent set design, which spans the outside of a bar to a modern-day gym to a Cypriot harbor. The score, composed by Andre J. Pluess, provides a solid emotional undertow to the drama.
Despite the difficult themes of Othello – misogyny, racism, lying, jealousy, and sabotage – justice does get served, which is a ray of hope for anyone who feels like as a society we’ve reached a new low. The world keeps spinning and Shakespeare continues to stay relevant. For tickets and information, go to: https://americanrepertorytheater.org/shows-events/othello/
