BWW Reviews: WAITING FOR OTHELLO and DESDEMONA: Two Plays, Two Acts, and One Hit

The Trebuchet Players had two things going against them before their double bill of WAITING FOR OTHELLO and DESDEMONA: A PLAY ABOUT A HANDKERCHIEF began. First, their aesthetic, 1920s German Expressionist film, grated me, my B.A. in film studies, and my love for Weimar cinema. As we left for the show, I said to my companion, "If they don't get it right, there'll be hell to pay." Second, though the Company OnStage is one mile from my home, I have never seen it during my travails to the 99 Cents Only Store and Home Depot that obscure it. I got lost. By the time I arrived at the show, I was a shark in the water. But, no blood was spilled that night.

This is unsurprising. The Trebuchet Players are seasoned Shakespeareans. In 2012, the company mounted TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, and, in 2013, assisted by Director Kathy Drum, the company mounted a Steampunk Sideshow version of HAMLET, which makes Kathy Drum no stranger to Shakespeare or adventurous aesthetics.

The Shakespeare grindhouse appetizer is WAITING FOR OTHELLO, a tongue-in-cheek short play cum drinking game by Houstonite Bryan Maynard. It is a farcical, irreverent take on the moments before the opening scene in OTHELLO.

All I can say about DESDEMONA is that Paula Vogel's Desdemona is no angel. Also, that Desdemona will die in the end. Act surprised.

WAITING FOR OTHELLO is good fun supported by good performances. Aaron Echegaray's Iago is appropriately dark with much more than a tinge of funny. The humor of Iago arises from his commitment to reality. Iago is just as likely to say, "Sh*t!" when something doesn't go his way as he is to have a war injury and labored walk. Jonathan Moonen's dexterity is something to behold. He is Fake Shakespeare, Roderigo and Serving Wench all in one. And, I am a fan of Taylor Wildman's (Michael Cassio) physical comedy. Some of his best moments on stage involve drunken exchanges and pratfalls.

A sticking point for me is the stereotypical "black" speech Bryan Maynard uses to portray Othello's writing voice in a note. Why is Othello talking about "booty calls" and stealing Will Smith's lingo from 1995? I get the joke (and its premise). That's why I find it cringeworthy and unfunny. I may be in the minority opinion, but why alienate a portion of the audience, however small, for a throw-away joke?

In DESDEMONA: A PLAY ABOUT A HANDKERCHIEF, Director Kathy Drum's "... goal was to simply and elegantly give the audience the experience (Paula) Vogel wanted, a cinematic experience meant to let the audience see the multitude of female archetypes from many different angles." Assisted by Rebecca Bernstein, she succeeds.

Tyrrell Woolbert's wonderfully rounded Desdemona contains multitudes. She is sensual and liberal yet bound by privilege and immaturity. She's naive yet cunning, if not intelligent. She's centuries old, yet so modern I'm sure I've seen her guest in an episode of Girls.

Karen Schlag (Emilia) and Leighza F. Walker (Bianca) are fantastic foils. Each turns their archetype inside out. Karen Schlag is the overbearing but downtrodden servant with street smarts. But, she thinks a man who smells your sheets when he suspects you of cheating is in love. Leighza F. Walker's Bianca is deceptive. For a moment, she seems a simple, sweet hooker with a tender heart of gold. But, at a moment's notice, she becomes a woman who will cut you to protect her heart and her gold.

It's a pleasure, however unctuous at times, to see women being unapologetically spiteful, slutty harpies still deserving of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the way they choose.

I am of two minds about the pacing. Towards the end of the play, when I can't stomach the character's cruelty towards each other any longer, when I can't stand Desdemona's ingratiating personality, her cruelty towards Emilia and her condescension to Bianca, I begin to think, "Isn't Desdemona supposed to die soon?" That is the point. Isn't it? Don't you want Desdemona to die now that she's not virginal and virtuous? On the other hand, it's possible that my desire for Desdemona's death is a desire for quicker pace. Whatever the case may be, the fact remains, just when I think I'm out, the actors pull me back in.

I have come to love and appreciate the set design for the production. It is bold, compelling, and entrancing.

Director Kathy Drum chooses to curtain the stage in see-through white scrim for the second act play DESDEMONA. Throughout the second act, the scrim becomes the play's metaphorical (and literal) silver screen and where Kathy Drum places her cinematic projections and the audience places their mental projections. For me, the scrim also serves as a reminder of the all-important handkerchief. It is never lost. Rather, it is always present, trapping the female characters behind a veil of beauty and obfuscation.

I also enjoy the creative use of texture, color and perspective inspired by Hubert Roestenburg's landscapes. It seems fitting for a play that so creatively looks at the perspectives, colors and textures of its characters.

Trebuchet Players "doozy of a Shakespearean adaptation" runs Sept. 5 - 20 on Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun., Sept. 14 at 3 p.m., and Thurs, Sept. 18, at 8 p.m. at The Company OnStage, 536 Westbury Square, Houston, TX, 77035

For those who want to arrive at the theatre without frustration, you will find it between W. Belfort and Chimney Rock off Burdine not at Home Depot, as GoogleMaps might suggest.

E-mail tyrrell@trebuchetplayers.org with your name and number of tickets required for reservations.

Production photos courtesy of Trebuchet Players

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