For Immediate Release: Press Contact: Liza Holtmeier August 1, 2005 202.608.6302 [email protected] SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY’S 2005-2006 SEASON OPENS WITH Othello BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by Michael Kahn Featuring Avery Brooks and Patrick Page WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Shakespeare Theatre Company opens its 2005-2006 season with Artistic Director Michael Kahn directing a production of Othello from August 30 to October 30, 2005. With poetry rivaling King Lear and with the psychological depth of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Othello is a highly charged tale of jealousy, prejudice, revenge and the destruction of innocence. For the production, Kahn directs a cast that includes Avery Brooks as Othello, Patrick Page as Iago, Colleen Delany as Desdemona, Lise Bruneau as Emilia and Company Member David Sabin as Brabantio. Media partner The Washingtonian magazine provides promotional support throughout the run. Passed over for the position of Othello’s lieutenant, Iago begins to plot his revenge against the Moor. Believing his wife, Emilia, has been unfaithful with Othello, Iago plans to poison Othello’s marriage with jealousy. As Iago’s lies begin to take hold, Othello questions more and more the fidelity of his new bride, eventually destroying his once-happy marriage. “Othello is extraordinary in its psychological complexities, and I think it is a reduction of the play to say it is simply a study of jealousy,” says Michael Kahn. “It’s a study of a great man, the world around him and his destruction. And although the play deals with jealousy – and, to an even greater extent, obsession – it doesn’t start out as a play about jealousy. It starts out as a play about love. I am interested in exploring the psychologies of Othello and Iago. What is it in Iago that drives him to do what he does, and what is it in Othello that leaves him vulnerable to Iago’s machinations?” THE CAST Avery Brooks returns to play Othello, a role he first performed for the Theatre during the 1990- 91 season. Brooks last appeared at the Theatre in the title role of The Oedipus Plays, a production that traveled to the 2003 Athens Festival in Greece. Recently, he played the title role in King Lear at Yale Repertory Theatre. An accomplished actor, director, musician and educator, Brooks has performed to critical acclaim the title role in the Phillip Hayes Dean play Paul Robeson since 1982. He has sung opera and performed vocals with numerous jazz artists, most recently at the Paris Banlieues Bleues Festival in 2005. His film credits include Solomon Northrup’s Odyssey, American History: X and Fifteen Minutes. His television credits include the role of Hawk in A Man Called Hawk and Spenser: for Hire, and Captain Sisko in the Star Trek series Deep Space Nine. In 1994, he was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. For 34 years, Brooks has been affiliated with Rutgers University, where he was the first black MFA graduate in acting and directing. He is currently a tenured professor of theatre at Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts. Patrick Page returns to play Iago after making his Shakespeare Theatre Company debut last season as Macbeth. A veteran Broadway actor, Page has appeared in Julius Caesar, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Kentucky Cycle and A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway, he has performed in Rex and as the title role in Richard II. Regional productions include roles as Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, Anthony, Richard II, Henry V and Richard III at such theatres as Long Wharf Theatre, ACT, Missouri Repertory, Indiana Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Pioneer Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse, Arizona Theatre and the New York, Oregon, Utah and Alabama Shakespeare festivals. Colleen Delany returns to play Desdemona, Othello’s wife. Delany appeared in two of the Theatre’s production last season, playing Louisa Strozzi in Lorenzaccio and Thaisa in Pericles. Delany is well-known to Washington audiences, having performed at Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Folger Theatre, Studio Theatre and Woolly Mammoth, among others. She recently made her Chicago stage debut in Mary Zimmerman’s production of Silk at the Goodman Theatre. Lise Bruneau returns to play Emilia, Iago’s wife. Bruneau made her Shakespeare Theatre Company debut as Hermione in The Winter’s Tale in 2002. She most recently appeared in Misalliance at the Old Globe. Bruneau has appeared in many regional theatres across the country, including Center Stage, ACT, Seattle Repertory, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory, Wilma Theater and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Company Member David Sabin plays Brabantio, Desdemona’s father. Sabin was last seen as Lord Augustus Lorton in the Theatre’s production of Lady Windermere’s Fan. Sabin has appeared in numerous productions at the Theatre, including Lorenzaccio, Cyrano, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Rivals, Richard III, The Silent Woman, The Winter’s Tale, The Little Foxes, Hamlet, A Woman of No Importance, Richard II, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Camino Real and The Country Wife. On Broadway, Sabin has appeared in Slapstick Tragedy, The Threepenny Opera, Miss Moffat, Gabrielle, Ambassador!, The Water Engine and Othello. He also has appeared off-Broadway and in regional productions at such theatres as Studio Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Steppenwolf, Yale Repertory and Seattle Repertory. Gregory Wooddell returns to play Cassio, a lieutenant serving under Othello. Wooddell was last seen at the Theatre as Cecil Graham in Lady Windermere’s Fan. Other Shakespeare Theatre Company credits include Cyrano, The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Free For All, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999), Richard II, The Country Wife and Don Carlos. Regional credits include productions with the Alley Theatre and Juilliard Theatre. He also has appeared in the films Paradise Virus, Lost in Yonkers, Airbourne and Dial 911. The production also features Andrea Cirie as Bianca, Michael John Casey as a Venetian Senator, Ralph Cosham as the Duke of Venice, Laurence Drozd as Lodovico, W. Alan Nebelthau as Gratiano and a Venetian Senator, Erik Steele as Roderigo, Joris Stuyck as Montano, and ensemble members Dacyl Acevedo, Jordan Coughtree, Blake Ellis, Stephen Graybill, Tony Nam, Nicholas Urda and Ryan Young. THE DESIGNERS For the production, Kahn has assembled a team of noted designers to create the contrasted worlds of Venice and Cyprus. Set Designer James Noone has designed a simple, wooden set with moving wall panels to represent both strict, masculine Venice and freer, warmer Cyprus. Noone made his Shakespeare Theatre Company debut designing the set for Cyrano, for which he won a Helen Hayes Award. His Broadway credits include Match, Urban Cowboy, A Class Act, Judgment at Nuremberg, Jekyll and Hyde, Night Must Fall, The Rainmaker, Getting and Spending, The Gin Game, The Sunshine Boys and Inherit the Wind. He also has designed for numerous opera companies, regional theatres and Off-Broadway productions. Costume Designer Jess Goldstein has designed costumes with the silhouettes of 1600s clothes but with more contemporary fabrics and details. Venice and Cyprus are differentiated by their respective color palettes: cold blues and purples for Venice and warm reds and oranges for Cyprus. Goldstein’s credits for the Theatre include The Little Foxes, Coriolanus (2000) and Love’s Labor’s Lost (1987). Goldstein’s numerous Broadway credits include Proof, The Rainmaker, Judgment at Nuremberg, Inherit the Wind and The Rivals, for which he won a Tony Award. Regionally his work has been seen at Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre and Arena Stage. Lighting Designer Charlie Morrison returns to create the lighting design for the production. Morrison designed the lights for last season’s production of The Tempest and served as associate lighting designer for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. Composer Adam Wernick’s music has been heard in the Theatre’s productions of Cyrano, Five by Tenn, Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, Hedda Gabler, Camino Real, The Merchant of Venice and King John, among others. The design team also includes Sound Designer Martin Desjardins, Fight Director Paul Dennhardt, and Voice and Text Coach Ralph Zito. MEDIA PARTNER The Shakespeare Theatre Company is pleased to welcome the return of The Washingtonian magazine as Media Partner. Since 1999, The Washingtonian has been a consistent and valued resource for the Theatre’s efforts to increase promotional and advertising support while reaching an expanded audience. For Michael Kahn’s production of King Lear (1999), The Washingtonian became the Theatre’s first Media Partner ever. Since then, they have supported Timon of Athens (2000), Hamlet (2001), Much Ado About Nothing (2002) A Midsummer Night’s Dream and last season’s Macbeth. Founded in 1965, The Washingtonian is the monthly magazine of the nation’s capital and is known as “The Magazine Washington Lives By.” The Washingtonian has won five prestigious National Magazine Awards and rates number one in market penetration of all city and regional magazines. The mission of the magazine is to make the Washington area a better place for all who live here. One goal is to help its readers understand this dynamic and complicated city. To help its readers live better, the magazine publishes many service stories, such as guides to the area’s best restaurants, top doctors, and great weekend getaways. Washingtonian Online, the magazine’s website, www.washingtonian.com, offers features on restaurants, schools, medicine, travel, business, shopping, the arts and theatre reviews. It was designed so that residents and visitors can tailor the website to match their needs and interests. SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS • On Sunday, September 4 at 1 p.m., the Shakespeare Theatre Company continues Windows, a lively discussion and introduction to Othello with local scholars and members of the artistic staff.