A brawnier ‘Othello’

Othello looks like a bodybuilder. And wicked Iago, in addition to noble Othello, is played by an African American.

These are the most unorthodox aspects of Kevin Cochran’s vigorous, well-spoken staging of Shakespeare’s “Othello” for Grove Theater Center at the Gem Theater. And these casting decisions yield somewhat mixed results.

For most of the play, Othello’s and the other soldiers’ bodies are kept under modern military fatigues and red berets. But in the case of Dante Walker’s Othello, his massive forearms protrude from his sleeves; he draws attention to them by holding them at his sides in a stiff, action-figure pose.

This adds a visual reminder that Othello is not completely at ease in the culture in which he has professionally excelled. Walker speaks with controlled poise in Othello’s initial scenes and looks about 10 times as regal as the casually avuncular duke (Howard Patterson) who is his ostensible commander. But the rigidity of Walker’s posture suggests that all that control comes with a cost.

Walker’s impressively sculpted body becomes distracting, however, when he removes his shirt, just as he enters Desdemona’s chamber for his final and fateful scene. Suddenly you find yourself wondering how many hours a day this guy spends in the gym. How does he ever have time to command his troops?

Walker uses his powerful voice well. But he doesn’t have as much control over it as he has over his look. When this Othello’s emotions fall apart, his words become harder to understand.

Joshua Wolf Coleman is a superb Iago. He often speaks and gesticulates to the audience, checking our reactions to the progress of his destruction derby, like the bad-boy star of some warped reality TV series. The audience hangs on his every word, which can be difficult when a character is so unremittingly villainous. In contrast to Walker’s, Coleman’s physical posture is as flexible as Iago’s morals.

In a printed interview (posted at the box office), director Cochran and Coleman discuss the fact that this Iago is of the same race as this Othello. They say this gives the two characters an unspoken alliance in a predominantly white culture. Is this why Othello is so susceptible to Iago’s stratagems?

This interpretive wrinkle isn’t especially noticeable in the theater. Walker and Coleman are dissimilar in so many ways that it’s difficult to think of them as allies for any unspoken reasons.

Ultimately, the casting of both roles with actors of the same race eliminates racial bigotry as one of Iago’s motivations, which removes a dimension from the play. Still, the play is sufficiently dimensional even without that extra layer.

Kim Jackson’s girlish Desdemona is very appealing. Michael John Walters’ lean Roderigo, conspicuously dressed up in civilian duds, is an amusing odd man out. Jane Macfie’s Emilia is refreshingly brash, but it’s hard to imagine how she and Iago ever got together.

The posted interview reveals that Cochran set the action in 1973, but this isn’t obvious from the production itself. The set is dominated by a rather unsightly platform that is manually revolved. It serves many uses but weighs down the spectacle as much as it enhances it.

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‘Othello’

Where: Gem Theater, 12852 Main Street, Garden Grove

When: Thursday-Sunday, 8 p.m.

Ends: Sunday

Price: $21.50-$25.50

Contact: (714) 741-9555

Running Time: 2 hours, 50 minutes

Dante Walker...Othello

Joshua Wolf Coleman...Iago

Kim Jackson...Desdemona

Eric Feldman...Cassio

Jane Macfie...Emilia

Michael John Walters...Roderigo

Jessica Plotin...Bianca

Howard Patterson...Duke

David Allen Jones...Brabantio,

Lodovico

By William Shakespeare. Directed and set by Kevin Cochran. Lighting and costumes by Leonard Ogden. Sound by Joseph Carver.