Tulsa’s oldest Black theater company, Theatre North, is joining forces with Tulsa Shakespeare Company to bring “Othello” to Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
William Shakespeare’s timeless exploration of jealousy, manipulation and deception follows Othello, a Black military general. His ensign, Iago, is angry at being passed over for promotion and manipulates Othello with false stories of his wife’s infidelity, leading to a dramatic, final confrontation.
The recent Broadway production with Denzel Washington in the lead role and Jake Gyllenhaal as Iago received rave reviews.
Theatre North’s Executive Director Maybelle Wallace and Tulsa Shakespeare’s Creative Artistic Director Brock England set this production during the United States Civil War.
“The original source material, Cinthio’s ‘Hecatommithi,’ published in 1565, tells of the noble Moor traveling to Cyprus to command troops, but Shakespeare took the story a step further by placing the play during the Ottoman-Venetian War in 1570,” says England, who is serving as the play’s director.
“This gave his audience a touchstone by connecting the story to well-known conflict, allowing them to relate to the play in a more personal way,” England said. “We hope to accomplish this with modern audiences by incorporating elements of the Civil War in our production.”
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Said Wallace: “Theatre North’s mission is to cultivate the performing arts, drama and music among the residents of the north Tulsa community — to encourage and promote an appreciation of these arts and to stage and present plays that reflect the African American experience. I have always wanted to stage ‘Othello,’ and my wish is fulfilled by Theatre North’s partnership with the Tulsa Shakespeare Company.”
Tulsa actor David Harris leads the cast in the titular role. He is joined by Jenks High School graduate Karam Alkhatib as Iago and Corinna “Sparrow” Browning as Othello’s wife, Desdemona.
Ibrahim Buyckes, Alex Claxton, Jacob Ide, Lewis Ironside, Erikah Potter, Charmin Richardson and Rachel Steed comprise the rest of the cast.
Audiences can catch “Othello” at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center in the Liddy Doenges Theatre for four performances — 8 p.m. Oct. 18 and 25 and 3 p.m. Oct. 19 and 26. Tickets are $36, and there are discounts for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at tulsapac.com, by phone at 918-596-7111 or in-person at the TPAC Box Office at the corner of Third Street and Cincinnati Avenue. The box office is open Mondays through Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The production is made possible thanks to sponsorship from the City of Tulsa, the Arts Commission of the City of Tulsa, Vision Arts Tulsa, the Zarrow Commemoration Fund, the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
For more information about this production, go to tulsashakespeare.com.
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Jimmie Tramel
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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