“Othello” reviewed by Frank Meccia

[rating=3]Othello, for over 400 years this tragedy by William Shakespeare has been performed in every type of theatre venue, from professional to community theatre alike. The story’s basic idea is Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian Army who is betrayed by his unfaithful officer and friend, Iago. Back then, the term Moorish, meant from North Africa, or dark- skinned, and so this storiy’s theme is surrounded by Love, Racism, Jealousy, Betrayal, and Revenge, the basis behind every good Play, and Opera for over 500 years. Othello as most people who have seen it know, is over 3 hours long. One reason , there is so much packed into the first half of the show, Shakespeare was good at explaining all the major characters, so that you would understand what was going to happen in the second half, Babes with Blades a theater that supports woman in all forms of theatre, announced this year that they were going to do Othello, with an all-woman, and trans-woman cast. This is not the first time this has been done, and to be honest, I find it a spoof on Shakespeare, due to the fact that woman were never allowed to be in his  plays till after 1620, all roles including Othello were performed by the Kingman, and the woman were played by younger men.

This production which runs 2 ½ hours has its Pros and Cons to doing it this way. First, by cutting down on the time ratio, some of the characters feel rushed in the words, so they leave out any hint of an English accent. In the beginning, their characters bring out the emotion of a man, or a warrior, but after an hour all that is gone. The acting overall is great, Sarah Liz Bell as (Desdemona) plays a very believable role, in the last half of the show, knowing that she will die, her emotions are strong, and moving. Brianna Buckley who plays Othello, is surprisingly convincing in that role, a role that has been played by greats like Laurence Fishburne, Carlo Rota, James Earl Jones, and Richard Burton. Other great actors have played that role, but society today, might condemn them since they wore dark makeup.  Ms. Buckley plays the role with fierce determination, and you can feel the love she has for Desdemona. Meredith Ernst (Cassio) has an extensive background in Shakespeare, so her delivery is great, and even her fight scene is very believable. The rest of the cast does a good job with a difficult script as written by Shakespeare.

Hats off to Carlie Casas (Costume Designer), she did an excellent job with 16^th century costuming. The dress that Desdemona wears is so true to the period, even the under garments and the cord used to tie the dress in the back. The rest of the costumes, and with a cast of 12 were all believable. Being a small theatre that only hold about 60 people comfortably ,the set was simple and functions with this Theatre. Hats off to Mignon McPherson Stewart for a believable production, that is simply good, and thoughtfully staged.

OTHELLO IS PLAYING TILL May 25^{th with performances as follows:}

Price: $28

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 773-904-0391

www.babeswithblades.org/

At the Factory Theatre. 1623 Howard Street, Chicago.

Street Parking. Very easy. I suggest using the Red Line, so from the North Suburbs, the yellow or purple line will get you to Howard Street

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Othello”