Othello 2024

The John Hand Theater: June 29 - July 28

Shakespeare’s Othello is adapted by Greg Sherman and Gregory Wolfe

 

     Othello was the first Shakespearean play I got to see. 

      It was 1965, and I was a sophomore in high school. If the nuns said it was important, our parents would send us as a class to see a movie for the group fee of just one dollar each. This version gave us Laurence Olivier in blackface as the Moor of Venice. Maggie Smith was Desdemona, and Frank Finlay was Iago. I was clueless about all that Elizabethan speech and was glad as hell to be at the World Theatre in Billings, instead of sweating out problems in Mr. Roberts’ algebra class.

       Subsequently I’ve seen Shakespeare’s tragedy many times.

     Timeless in its message, this adaptation is “timelier” than most in that “OTHELLO 2024” focuses not only on the deceitfulness of Shakespeare’s most heinously two-faced villain, but also upon the deception that is inflicted upon us as citizens by the media with all of its slanted political mudslinging and lying broadcasters. 

     This production is also updated in the sense that communication is done, not only by the spoken word, but also by texting, emails and even zooms.

      It may take you a minute to get into the flow of this production, but the director makes quick work of that by adding projections and ‘news videos’ that clarify.

      Insidious and ubiquitous, the villainous, Iago, is played with gleeful malevolence by Denver favorite, Kelly Uhlenhopp. Marlowe Award Winner for her performance as Maggie, the cat, in Vintage Theatre’s magnificent production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” it’s hard not to have the words, “Mendacity, mendacity, mendacity,” ringing in his ears as she works her venomous plans.

     Director Andrew Uhlenhopp has cast the show well and paced it in such a way that the energy of his very fine cast never flags. (Fresh off his brilliant performance as Mark Rothko in Town Hall Arts’ excellent production of “RED,” one hopes to see Uhlenhopp onstage again soon as well as in the director’s chair again soon.)

     TJ Jackson is well cast as the honorable and credulous Othello. Handsome and charismatic, this actor speaks Shakespeare’s words eloquently, and gives a damned good stab at the madness required for the final scenes. 

    Emily Ebertz is an enchanting Desdemona. Her reading of the part is excellent, and her acting in the final scenes of this tragedy enhances our catharsis.

     Kate Poling’s Emilia is also a stand-out!

      Greg Sherman’s and Gregory Wolfe’s adaptation is a cautionary tale regarding the importance of source-checking   what we hear on the news and see on the internet.

     Not every adaptation of the canon works. This one will grab you by the throat and leave you breathless.

     Run to get a ticket. 

 

Photo credit: RDG PHOTOGRAPHY

 

The Firehouse Theatre Company is currently presenting Othello 2024, a contemporizing of Shakespeare’s play about The Moor of Venice.

For tickets call 303-562-3232 or go online at firehousetheatercompany.com