Shakespeare's Othello at Drew University

As promised, here's my review of Othello at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Let me start off by saying that even though the theatre is just a brief walk away, I cannot go there often. I usually buy a rush ticket, which was the case last Sunday, Sep 25 when I saw it. Rush tickets are discounted and they give you whatever seats are left, good or bad. Well, my seat was "orchestra right, seven rows up." Translation: my seats were lousy. Of course I don't need to tell you that all the seats for "orchestra middle" were taken. The theatre itself is very small, it only seats about 300 people. I find the outside lobby where they sell Shakespearean souvenirs more appealing than the theatre itself. Don't bother buying the souvenirs there, though. They're nice (t-shirts, hats, feather pens, inkwells, books, maps, etc) but way too expensive--even for a university. Buy them elsewhere, like I plan on doing.

Anyway, on to the play. Of all the actors in this play, the standouts for me have to be Robert Cuccioli as Iago and Lindsay Smiling as Othello. You would think that Desdemona would stand out as well, but Victoria Mack's Desdemona was barely memorable. She's pretty, polite and can certainly deliver lines well--but she's boring...for lack of a better word. To be fair, Othello's virtuous and falsely accused wife can be difficult to cast. The actress must not only possess physical beauty, she must command the stage in a way to not only have Othello won over, but the audience as well. Mack has the looks and charm, but none of the charisma to carry such an important role.

Jon Barker's Cassio was strong, funny at times and greatly cast. He provided comic relief when necessary, but still maintained his honor as Othello's newly appointed lieutenant. He shines in his scenes with the drunken sailors (all of which I wanted to take home with me, they were so adorable) and his brief scenes with Bianca, the Cypriot courtesan. Of all the ladies' costumes, Bianca's is the loveliest, by the way.  Some minor roles were doubled by the main characters, such as Lodovico and the Duke of Venice, who also plays one of the drunken sailors. Matt Bradford Sullivan should earn an important mention for his horrible Roderigo. Just awful. He wasn't funny and he wasn't pitiful. Just merely pathetic. I've seen better Roderigos both onstage and onscreen. Thankfully he doesn't have much stage time and he avoids stealing the spotlight from the two principle actors, which is good. Jennifer Antaramian's Emilia is solid, if generic. She talks with a slight Celtic accent. Whether it was intentional or not, I wasn't sure, but it got very annoying after a while. Emilia is from Venice not Ireland! Ironic, considering she doesn't have a Celtic look.

Robert Cuccioli's Iago was easily the star of the evening. I saw him in another production at the theatre as Salieri in Amadeus. He's a very good actor. Very talented. From the opening scene to his monologues to the audience, he's definitely knows his stuff. I hate Iago's character, but I didn't hate Cuccioli as him. You would have to see him to believe him. I saw him, and I'm truly glad I did. Smiling's Othello comes a close second--especially when his anger erupts in Act 3.  Wow! That sums up what I think about it. His epileptic fits and helplessness as a man slowly losing his mind.