Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Jessica Kubzansky
The Bard’s most intimate of family tragedies about the terrible force of love and the breakdown of a man who has everything—power, position, and passion—only to find his world decimated through intense mind games with his ensign. Prescient in its searing social commentary of prejudice, betrayal, and thwarted ambition, Shakespeare’s thunderous drama examines who we trust and the price we pay for choosing wrong.
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Shakespeare's tragic play Othello, originally written in 1603, was set during the Venetian-Ottoman wars of the 15th and 16th centuries. In the current production at Pasadena's A Noise Within, director Jessica Kubzansky has decided to set it in modern day Washington, D.C. Kubzansky lays out her reasoning in her “Director's Note” in the program but little of it transfers to the stage. Even though the action is set in the army during wartime, Othello is a very small scale, personal play about jealousy, in love and in brotherhood. The setting is not that important; the emotional nuances are and Kubzansky has elicited very strong performances from her cast.
See why A NOISE WITHIN serves as a shining beacon for classical theatre in greater Los Angeles. OTHELLO remains ready to take a bow for you until April 28.
As Lodovica delivers her last words, Iago sits in anguish, guilt, and sadness, which is heart-wrenching to witness. After the ups and downs of the production, the intimacy between the characters and the audience culminates a lasting feeling of self-reflection. We reflect not only on the tragedy of Othello, but also on the perspectives of racism and misogyny painted with the words of Shakespeare that still feel difficult to carry hundreds of years later.
At A Noise Within, Jessica Kubzansky brings “Othello” firmly into our time. And that works, to a point, to make the play feel immediate, in this crisp, trimmed, beautifully produced version.
Much love goes to director Jessica Kubzansky for creating a heartfelt touch to the drama. She encourages male bonding among the soldiers declaring their love for each other as brothers and soldiers of war...
Expect nothing but a first-rate performances from both actors and this stellar cast.
Kubzansky is a wonderfully insightful director, as she's demonstrated time and again in such projects as the Shakespearean riff “Everything That Never Happened,” presented last fall at what is now called Boston Court Pasadena, where she is co-artistic director. She has thought richly and deeply about “Othello,” spelling out her ideas in a persuasive director's note printed in the program. Much of that is also expressed onstage, but frustratingly, not all.
What if Iago does not personify evil incarnate? What if Othello is not full of himself? What if Desdemona is not an innocent damsel caught in a trap? The usual tropes are nuanced here, helped along by Kubzansky's decision to place the action in modern day Cyprus, a location still under stress some 400 years after Shakespeare wrote Othello. The subplots, often cut down the bone, in this production at A Noise Within, enrich the traditional tale.
A Noise Within's production of Othello takes full advantage of these more universal and contemporary qualities and gives the plot a present-day setting that sometimes works, and at other times drags the play down. However, strong performances and direction make this undoubtedly one of the better Shakespeare adaptations I have seen.
This production features some excellent performances, but doesn't need the modern setting to feel relevant. Shakespeare's text and the performances certainly succeed in that.
Fresh from that championship season, A Noise Within's Spring 2019 season blasts off with a must-see modern dress Othello that demonstrates why the Pasadena classical repertory theatre company just won the coveted Ovation Award for Best Season
An OTHELLO that's funny is a big surprise. A Noise Within's production proves the comedy is fundamentally in the play - it just takes the right actors to uncover it. And while not everything else works quite so well in this modern context, the humor lands on all fronts.
This classic Shakespeare tragedy just opened in a new production at A Noise Within that sets the story in present day, a choice that ultimately makes the already dated aspects of the story seem even more dated.
...all the actors in this performance of ‘Othello' are truly skillful and quite persuasive, their honest and passionate portrayals quickly making you a believer, convincing you that betrayal, jealousy, and hatred can be found beneath the surface of any man. - Highly recommended
Shakespeare's tragic play Othello, originally written in 1603, was set during the Venetian-Ottoman wars of the 15th and 16th centuries. In the current production at Pasadena's A Noise Within, director Jessica Kubzansky has decided to set it in modern day Washington, D.C. Kubzansky lays out her reasoning in her “Director's Note” in the program but little of it transfers to the stage. Even though the action is set in the army during wartime, Othello is a very small scale, personal play about jealousy, in love and in brotherhood. The setting is not that important; the emotional nuances are and Kubzansky has elicited very strong performances from her cast.
See why A NOISE WITHIN serves as a shining beacon for classical theatre in greater Los Angeles. OTHELLO remains ready to take a bow for you until April 28.
As Lodovica delivers her last words, Iago sits in anguish, guilt, and sadness, which is heart-wrenching to witness. After the ups and downs of the production, the intimacy between the characters and the audience culminates a lasting feeling of self-reflection. We reflect not only on the tragedy of Othello, but also on the perspectives of racism and misogyny painted with the words of Shakespeare that still feel difficult to carry hundreds of years later.
At A Noise Within, Jessica Kubzansky brings “Othello” firmly into our time. And that works, to a point, to make the play feel immediate, in this crisp, trimmed, beautifully produced version.
Much love goes to director Jessica Kubzansky for creating a heartfelt touch to the drama. She encourages male bonding among the soldiers declaring their love for each other as brothers and soldiers of war...
Expect nothing but a first-rate performances from both actors and this stellar cast.
Kubzansky is a wonderfully insightful director, as she's demonstrated time and again in such projects as the Shakespearean riff “Everything That Never Happened,” presented last fall at what is now called Boston Court Pasadena, where she is co-artistic director. She has thought richly and deeply about “Othello,” spelling out her ideas in a persuasive director's note printed in the program. Much of that is also expressed onstage, but frustratingly, not all.
What if Iago does not personify evil incarnate? What if Othello is not full of himself? What if Desdemona is not an innocent damsel caught in a trap? The usual tropes are nuanced here, helped along by Kubzansky's decision to place the action in modern day Cyprus, a location still under stress some 400 years after Shakespeare wrote Othello. The subplots, often cut down the bone, in this production at A Noise Within, enrich the traditional tale.
A Noise Within's production of Othello takes full advantage of these more universal and contemporary qualities and gives the plot a present-day setting that sometimes works, and at other times drags the play down. However, strong performances and direction make this undoubtedly one of the better Shakespeare adaptations I have seen.
This production features some excellent performances, but doesn't need the modern setting to feel relevant. Shakespeare's text and the performances certainly succeed in that.
Fresh from that championship season, A Noise Within's Spring 2019 season blasts off with a must-see modern dress Othello that demonstrates why the Pasadena classical repertory theatre company just won the coveted Ovation Award for Best Season
An OTHELLO that's funny is a big surprise. A Noise Within's production proves the comedy is fundamentally in the play - it just takes the right actors to uncover it. And while not everything else works quite so well in this modern context, the humor lands on all fronts.
This classic Shakespeare tragedy just opened in a new production at A Noise Within that sets the story in present day, a choice that ultimately makes the already dated aspects of the story seem even more dated.
...all the actors in this performance of ‘Othello' are truly skillful and quite persuasive, their honest and passionate portrayals quickly making you a believer, convincing you that betrayal, jealousy, and hatred can be found beneath the surface of any man. - Highly recommended
