Good Show, ‘Othello’

After reading Jan Herman’s gloomy review of the Grove Shakespeare Festival “Othello” (Sept. 3), I regarded my already-purchased tickets with some trepidation. Fortunately, I went ahead and attended the performance and was rewarded with one of the best productions of “Othello” I have ever seen.

The male leads, far from being weak, provided strong support for their characters. Gary Armagnac’s Iago was a classic two-faced schemer, familiar to anyone who has worked in an organization of more than five people, who smilingly flatters his superiors but is always working for his own ends. He provides a more realistic, and more chilling, portrayal than the melodramatic villain Mr. Herman seems to desire.

As for Michael Morgan’s Othello, he commanded the stage from his first entrance. He exuded the charisma and power required for a mighty leader of men who wins a noble woman with his deeds, while leaving room in his character for the necessary flaw which leads to his downfall. Where Mr. Herman saw mere ranting and raving, if he listened to the text, he would have realized Othello falls prey to epileptic fits, and Mr. Morgan’s masterful performance was one of the best he is likely to see. His struggle between his love and his sense of duty was below the surface, not represented in melodramatic hand-wringing, and was the more realistic for it.

I agree with Mr. Herman’s plaudits for the female side of the cast. I do not know with what preconceptions or prejudices he approached the play, and it is entirely possible he just doesn’t like it. It is certainly a hard play to like, given the violent subject matter, but that does not mean it is a hard play to appreciate.

LEE AYDELOTTE

Huntington Beach