Friday, February 17, 2012

SHAKESPEARE’S BEST PLAY

By Artistic Director Tom Quaintance

One of the best things I’ve read about Othello is that while Hamlet or Lear might be Shakespeare’s greatest Work, Othello is his best play. The tight, well drawn cast of characters; an exciting, clear, emotionally gripping plot; a towering hero with a tragic flaw; a fiery heroine who dies for her love; and perhaps the greatest villain in classic literature – it adds up to a spectacular evening of theatre.

The turnout for auditions was tremendous. There is a thirst for this kind of work, and I was thrilled to find such strong local and regional actors. The day before I was going to make an offer to an actor from New York to play Iago, I received this Facebook message from Phobe Hall, FSU professor and the Duke of Venice in this production: Tom, a former CFRT actor has returned home from Texas...

Sonny came in, with his four-year-old son in tow, and did a cold reading that made me sit up and take notice. He came back two days later with a prepared audition and killed it. I found my Iago!

Big thanks to PlayMakers Rep for inspiring this blog page. I had the fourth ever post on that page during Nicholas Nickleby three years ago, and I continue to follow their marvelous work through their outstanding posts.

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Othello plays March 1-4 at FSU's Seabrook Auditorium
Click here for tickets and more information.
 

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