Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted by Lisa Wolpe
Directed by Vanessa Morosco
Starring Debra Ann Byrd as Othello and Ella Loudon as Iago
Southwest Shakespeare Company presents Harlem Shakespeare Festival’s All-Female, multi-racial mainstage production of OTHELLO: The Moor of Venice for a limited run April 19th through April 28th, 2019 at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ. This new 90-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s OTHELLO, by Lisa Wolpe, is brought to the stages of Scottsdale as you’ve never seen it before. Celebrated director and educator Vanessa Morosco leads a cast of 8 classically trained actresses in a tragic tale that tells the story of a love that defies the boundaries of race; a hatred that defies all boundaries of reason. Together they will transform a lover's world of sighs into a universe of hurt... "Othello": be careful who you trust!
MORE TO EXPLORE
SYNOPSIS OF OUR 90-MINUTE OTHELLO | One name is at the center of every conversation: Othello. He has recently promoted Cassio to Lieutenant- a title Iago had been coveting. News has reached Brabantio, via Iago, his daughter, Desdemona, has secretly eloped with Othello. This news infuriates Brabantio and devastates Roderigo who is desperately in love with Desdemona. Brabantio is convinced Othello used witchcraft to woo Desdemona until she arrives and professes her love. Read More ...
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR | In 1660, nearly 50 years after Shakespeare’s death, King Charles II declared it legal for women to play female characters on the stage. On December 8th of that year, Margaret Hughes, at the age of 30, stepped onto the English stage and utterly revolutionized the theatre of her day by embodying the role of Desdemona in a production of Othello, forever transforming an audience's experience of the world's most popular playwright. Read More ...
READ FULL PRESS RELEASE | HARLEM SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL’S ALL-FEMALE, MULTI-RACIAL OTHELLO COMES TO THE WORLD RENOWNED TALIESIN WEST // LIMITED ENGAGEMENT – APRIL 19TH – 28TH
THE COMPANY
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Vanessa Morosco Director
Lisa Wolpe Script Adaptation
Rachelle Dart Fight Choreography
Gail Cooper-Hecht Costume Design
David D. Wright Sound Design
Wei Guo Live Music
Hannah Stewart Stage Manager
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
REVIEWS
BROADWAY WORLD
BWW Review: OTHELLO at Southwest Shakespeare Company
Review by Emily Noxon
Apr. 24, 2019
On this the day of Shakespeare's birthday, I am honored to write about Harlem Shakespeare Festival's All-Female Othello. Up until the 1660s, women were not allowed to act on stage because the practice was illegal and seen as inappropriate. It is not uncommon now to see adaptations of Shakespeare's most famous plays with all female casts. The story of Othello flourishes in the hands of these talented women >> Read More
TALKING BROADWAY
Regional Reviews: Phoenix
Othello: Harlem Shakespeare Festival / Southwest Shakespeare Company
Review by Gil Benbrook
April 24, 2019
Most theatre purists and historians are well aware that in their original productions, William Shakespeare's plays were performed by casts composed entirely of men because women were not allowed to act. So, it's refreshing to see how the tables are turned when Othello, which focuses on hatred, jealousy and deception, is presented with a cast made up completely of women. Southwest Shakespeare Company's presentation of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival's all-female Othello is a solid, powerful, gender-bending production of one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies >> Read More
CAST
Debra Ann Byrd (Othello)
Ella Loudon* (Iago)
Amy Driesler* (Cassio)
Ryan L. Jenkins (Roderigo)
Kellyn Traenkenschuh (Montano)
Natalie Andrews (Desdemona)
Megan Lindsay (Emilia)
Troi Hall (Bianca)
*AEA