I caught the show last night. The “October 2028” projection has been changed to “In The Near Future.” It’s a lateral move, as this production is set basically now and neither one makes one iota of difference.
The word that kept coming to mind was casual. Everything was delivered so casually, as actors raced through their lines at breakneck speed. This is a play where a man who is devoted to his wife is manipulated to a degree to which he eventually commits murder; there’s nothing casual about it. Instead, we’re seeing actors recite Shakespeare, not act it.
I think the blame lies with Leon, whose direction is mostly indifferent except for the rare time it’s actively bad (the transition into Desdemona’s bed chamber accompanied by a 1950s Hollywood melodrama score is particularly baffling). Why is Washington facing upstage, away from the audience, for half of his wooing speech? Why is everyone talking so fast? Not that I would have wanted the run time to be longer, but investing in moments would have done a lot of good. From my seat in the rear mezz, there wasn’t one striking stage picture.
There are moments when you see what could have been, where some passion creeps in. The “Villian, be sure thou prove my love a whore!” scene crackles with the electrify you’d think Washington and Gyllenhaal would bring to the whole show. There’s something interesting, too, about Washington’s descent into madness, less vengeful and more a man losing his mental bearings like a victim of cognitive decline. But without a stronger directorial POV, it kind of comes off as silly, and the actors are left unmoored.
It’s a disappointing evening, for sure, because the two leads are capable of giving us a thrilling Othello. This just isn’t it.
(Also, can we please just mic plays? The top ticket price is $900, we shouldn’t have to strain to hear the words, especially Shakespeare.)
Updated On: 3/22/25 at 09:51 AM
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