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New Theatre's
Othello solid but not subtle
By Bill Hirschman
Othello is notoriously difficult to
master because its protagonist is such an inexcusably
suggestible fool, and his lightning descent from blissful
adoration to murderous jealously is well-nigh unbelievable.
So the New Theatre's qualified success
in its 18th season opener is commendable. This Shakespeare
offering isn't as strong or flawless as last season's
Hamlet, but it gathers power in spurts to emerge as
a solid production.
The classic tale of a general whose
marriage is fatally poisoned by the slanders of a
traitorous aide doesn't get a nuanced presentation.
When Othello goes into homicidal mode, his black and
white garb suddenly gains a blood-red chemise. Lost
-- and sorely missed -- are subtleties and subtext,
such as the sense of the black Moor feeling himself
an outsider in lily-white Venice.
This is a blunt exercise in emotion,
with the powerful and powerless pushed like pawns
in the malevolent manipulations of the evil Iago.
On that level, director Rafael de Acha and his cast
have successfully conjured a tragic acceleration toward
inexorable catastrophe.
Don't judge the production by its
first 20 minutes, with every character speaking Shakespeare's
verse without any meaning or passion or poetry in
what feels like the opening laps of the Indy 500.
But by the time Iago reaches his second
rumination on evil, audiences should be hooked. De
Acha may have people standing around more than usual,
but every few minutes he stages those theatrical flourishes
at which he excels. After Iago and Othello have cut
their palms for a blood oath, Iago takes the newly
bestowed sash of lieutenant that he has plotted to
win and wraps his wound in it, triumphantly creating
a blood-soaked trophy. Moments like that are worth
the price of admission.
James Samuel Randolph invests the
title character with the essential charisma and rumbling
organ voice. What Randolph doesn't have are the chops
for those underwritten hairpin transformations, especially
the two minutes off-stage in which Othello morphs
from mildly suspicious to virtually convinced of his
wife's unfaithfulness.
Carlos Orizondo's Iago is out of sync
with the role at first, but he keeps plugging away
until he finds the pitch-black soul of someone who
finds pleasure in causing others pain.
Tara Vodihn is genuinely touching
as the compliant victim Desdemona. Her preparation
for bed in the final scenes, like a prisoner preparing
for execution, is heartbreaking.
In addition to dog barks and torrential
storms, Anthony Reimer has provided superb musical
underpinnings. His carefully timed underscoring to
dramatic scenes is closer to a film soundtrack than
music to change scenery by. The sole but serious problem,
echoing the misstep of Electra a few season back,
is playing a single unending tone under several scenes.
Othello is part of the theater's "The
Shakespeare Project," meaning it runs in rotating
repertory with Twelfth Night beginning July 17.
Fuente:
SunSentinel
Julio - 2003
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