Civil War ‘Othello’ rages in Livermore
Strong cast buoys Shakespeare’s bitter tragedy
Even among Shakespeare’s tragedies, “Othello” is remarkably grim. By definition, all of the tragedies are full of people making calamitous choices, and the bodies do tend to pile up. Still, there’s something about what the titular protagonist is manipulated into doing in “Othello” that particularly chills the blood.
A Moorish general in the Venetian army, Othello is manipulated into murderous jealousy toward his innocent wife by Iago, the seemingly loyal officer who secretly hates him. The additional theme of racism is seldom far from the surface, as the black general’s marriage to a white woman causes waves that are only quelled because his military prowess is indispensable to the state.
The play is a potent choice for the Livermore Shakespeare Festival in its final season at the round outdoors at Wente Vineyards before moving down the street to Darcie Kent Vineyards next summer. The tragedy shares the twoshow season with the raucous comedy “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised)” by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield of the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
The choice of “Othello” as this year’s Shakespeare play has some interesting echoes of last year’s “The Winter’s Tale,” which also featured a husband roused to murderous jealousy over nothing. Michael Wayne Rice, director of this “Othello,” was one of the performers in that production last year. It’s also the first Shakespeare tragedy the company has produced in a while, since doing “Romeo and Juliet,” “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” back-to-back in 2010-2012.
Rice places his “Othello” during the American Civil War, with Othello a general in the Union Army. This setting thrusts the play’s racial subtext more into the foreground than ever, so much so that what’s surprising is how seldom it comes up. Even the spiteful Iago has an African American wife in this production (Summer Brown’s playful but formidably chastening Emilia), making racism seem not to be a primary motivator in his hatred.
But then, this Iago plays his cards closer to his chest than usual. Iago is one of those Shakespearean villains who delight in bragging about their schemes to the audience, but Malcolm Rodgers (who also designed the bare-bones set) is so subtle in his duplicity that much of the time he comes off as simply bland, betraying only the barest suggestion of a sly smile.
Othello himself is passionately portrayed by Skyler Cooper, a transgender actor who played a female Othello for Impact Theatre in 2005 and now revisits the role as a man. Hearty in happiness and howling in distress, Cooper’s Othello is a compelling presence throughout.
Nicole Odell is a strong and cheerful Desdemona, as effective in playful sparring (both verbal and literal) with husband Othello as she is in her gnawing fear and bewilderment later in the play. Jeremy Gallardo is an entertainingly manic and raucous Cassio, Othello’s trusted lieutenant who becomes an unwitting pawn in Iago’s game, and Mark Vashro is amusingly petulant as easily manipulated gentleman turned henchman Roderigo.
There’s some spirited swordplay scattered through the show, in fights directed by Sydney Schwindt (one of the three performers in “Complete Works”). The play’s most vital death scene is chilling in part because of how mercilessly long it takes.
The Civil War element comes out mostly in some substituted place names and in Callie Floor and Jocelyn Leiser Herndon’s costumes. There are occasional grim reminders such as a network of scars on Othello’s back, but there’s nary a glimpse of Confederates. Still, the setting occasions some lovely period fight songs and spirituals sung by the cast, plus one noxious cigar wielded by a superior officer.
As interesting as the setting is, it’s ultimately beside the point. This generally solid production isn’t a reinvention of “Othello” but just another way of highlighting the unspeakable depths of the human heart that give this story such haunting and lasting resonance.