William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616)

Frankly, the acting is so good, I don't care where we are. I don't care if we are in Venice and Cyprus as in the original text or in New Orleans (the Venice here) or Cuba (the Cyprus here). I'm in my theatre seat in a complete state of suspended belief, my mind completely boggled by all the possible reverberations in this post-modernist restructuring of a classicist's classic. If I weren't a recovering English Major, I'd be here writing a dissertation on all those connotations, conversations, and revelations Chris Anthony referred to in her letter to us, her audience.

But, no. I'm here, a grateful onlooker, in this renovated church, the Grandel Theatre with its vaulted ceiling and scrollwork. I'm here to be with others of my own kind for an evening--other human beings who have ventured out for entertainment and to learn more of that which we are. And, we are all here, passionately here, in union, in concert with the actors on the stage.

Everything about the production does its work in taking us with them, in taking us there...in taking us to that place where we get to see the human spirit in motion...the human spirit caught in the act of triumph, of suffering, and of the deepest regret.

It's the physicality of the performances that most catches my heart with the grace, power, comedy, and precision of the choreography of ensemble movement and of how each actor uses body and hands as well as voice and pacing to communicate character and situation.

I'm mesmerized by a whole new sense of Iago, for instance, a magnificent villain. Darryl Alan Reed's Iago has a lion's share of stage time and must keep us captivated, magnetized, and on-edge. Maybe we know what will happen next or not.

Maybe we studied Shakepeare, and maybe we didn't. Doesn't matter this evening. In the Black Rep's production, we are experiencing Shakespeare as audiences in Shakespeare's day did. (Read here for more about attending theater in Shakepeare's day.)

Shakespeare didn't write for intellectuals and aristocrats. Shakespeare wrote for the masses and he wrote in multi-layered levels and allusions, as in the production interpreted by Chris Anthony here. You don't have to be a genius to get Shakespeare. You just have to be a human being. The Black Rep knows that and gives us that.

There are folks in this audience who could quote you Shakespeare footnotes. There are folks in this audience who've never read a line. Doesn't matter. We are all passionately here. The man next to me sighs during a touching love scene. When Iago comes on to do more dirty work, we are all ready to hiss. "The Snake," the man next to me murmurs. When Iago has cued Lodovico (Robert Lee Davis III) up to kill Cassio (Robert A. Mitchell), the woman next to me says, "He scared. He won't do it."

In other words, we're all deeply involved in the story. This is the Season of Storytellers, and Shakespeare is still the master, no matter where and no matter how we recast the original story. From now on, "Othello" has acquired a new layer in the history of play-making and play-going. It's a multi-colored layer that adds dimension to the play, to our reading of Shakepeare, and to our own struggles with our own inner tragedies.

Currently playing is "Othello."

From the broadside (as in Shakespeare's day):
Passion.
Jealousy.
Betrayal.
This time among Buffalo Soldiers.

St. Louis Black Repertory Company's production is part of "Shakespeare for a New Generation," a national theater initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Black Rep is only 1 of 25 theatre companies to receive the NEA award.

Until February 3rd, 2008 at the Grandel Theatre, in the Heart of Grand Center (3610 Grandel/at Grand). For tickets, call (314) 534-3810 or online at www.theblackrep.org. The Black Rep voted Best Arts Organization by Riverfront Times "Best of St. Louis 2007"

Season No. 31: Season of the Storyteller...subscriptions still available...I recommend the Passport Subscription which gives you maximum flexibility and a dynamite value price.

THE SEASON CONTINUES WITH:

Radio Golf by August Wilson, February 13 - March 9, 2008

Death & the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka, March 19-April 13, 2008
Soyinka is the 1986 Nobel Literature Laureate (and one of my favorite authors---I taught his novels in Ghana and Botswana).

Halem Duet by Djanet Sears, April 23- May 18, 2008
Sears is the winner of Canada's highest literary award, Governor General's Literary Award 1998.

Sarafina by Mbongeni Ngema, May 28-June 29, 2008 Nominated for 5 Tony Awards.

St. Louis Black Repertory Theater is a National Treasure. That's not just me, talking, folks, but the head of the Kennedy Center on his last visit here. Get on your walking and dancing shoes and get on down there!