Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Ann Bartek ©2025  Jessica Angleskhan (Emilia) and Stewart Walker (Iago)

Entering the Kirk Theatre to shadowy lighting and lanterns dangling like pendulums from the rafters, you can’t help but feel as though you’ve stepped into a kind of dark dungeon where something devious is soon to be delivered.   Alliteration aside, Oberon Theatre Ensemble’s original staging of Othello is a quality production that is lean and taut.

The tale is as familiar as it is tragic. The Moor, Othello, is called away to Cyprus with his love Desdemona.  He is quickly put into a tailspin when the manipulations of his less-than-true ancient, Iago, cause him to question his lady-love’s fidelity.  As the story unfolds, a destructive mix of hubris and deceitful machinations culminate in a final tableau of slain lovers and friends.

Cara Reichel very competently directs an accessible, naturalistic interpretation of the tale.  Her incorporation of an onstage violinist (Whitney Kam Lee) and djembe drummer (Rene “Cucusun” Reyes) is a refreshing choice that informs the tone of each scene they inhabit.  Her use of Ann Bartek’s minimalist set, which employs a dozen nautical ropes suspended from the ceiling, is ingenious.  While not always entirely clean in execution, her ability to take the audience from ship to tavern to bedroom with the few tugs of a pulley or precisely anchored line is noteworthy and crafts winning visual metaphors.

Ann Bartek ©2025  Jessica Blood (Desdemona), Daniel Morgan Shelley (Othello)

As Othello, Daniel Morgan Shelley does a fine job of portraying a confident general led down a path to jealousy-induced homicide.  Stewart Walker’s Iago is effectively diabolical, but lacks a delight in his own cleverness which would make his unmasking infinitely more satisfying.  Randy Howk’s work as Iago lackey, Roderigo, is delightful and provides much needed comic relief.  Simon Feil brings charm, gravitas and a genuine sense of integrity to the role of Cassio.

The real standout in this production however is Jennifer Blood as Desdemona.  Arguably one of the more difficult women’s characters in the Shakespeare cannon -the poor girl loves unconditionally only to be rewarded by being strangled at show’s end(!)- Blood delivers a performance that is specific, ethereal and intoxicating.  Her Desdemona is a young woman whose heart is open and full of love.  It is this blind trust that makes the moments as she awaits Othello’s final visit to her bedchamber (haloed beautifully by Isabella Byrd’s versatile lighting design) tension-filled and affecting.

The Oberon production offers excellent performances and amplifies the drama with gorgeous musicality.  Together these components supply additional colors to this well-known story.  While you won’t find a happy ending here, you will find a staging in which creative flourishes result in an enjoyable evening of Shakespeare.