OTHELLO, Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre, U., through March 3 (581-6961 or pioneertheatre.org). Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (one intermission).
While Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" is set against a battle in Cyprus between the Venetians and the Turks, the turbulent plot itself focuses on the domestic violence that erupts in a far more intimate triangle of jealousy, treachery and revenge.
Any "romance" in this drama, which ironically opened the week of Valentine's Day, is short-lived and ominously violent.
Shakespeare also throws some deep-seated racial and religious tension into the mix.
War, husbands murdering their wives, racial hatred and religious unrest. These could be items in today's news, except the timeless themes were also very familiar to audiences in the early 17th century — and the story works just as well in guest-director Gavin Cameron-Webb's beautifully crafted production, which he has shifted into the late 19th century.
Cameron-Webb has a large cast, most of them playing multiple roles — senators, Cypriots, servants, soldiers, police, etc.
The momentum and tension escalate around three central characters and their circle of friends and family.
Jonathan Earl Peck is articulate and masterful in the title role of Othello, a noble Moor who, towards the end, admits that he "loved not wisely but too well."
He is married to the beautiful Desdemona, who is torn between her daughterly love for her father, Brabantio, and her heartfelt romantic love for Othello. Jenny Mercien captures the mixed feelings and the growing concern as the marriage deteriorates into a maelstrom of distrust.
R. Ward Duffy does an exceptional job as the sinister Iago, who is hell-bent on destroying Othello by whatever nefarious means he can devise.
Othello praises him as "an honest man." And for the most part, Iago is honest, as he doesn't flinch from explaining in asides to the audience his hatred for "that Moor," and his evil plots.
Joyce Cohen is also well cast as Emilia, Iago's wife and Desdemona's trusted confidant. It is Emilia and her secret presentation of Desdemona's cherished, but misplaced, handkerchief to Iago that sets the play's tragic events in motion.
There are riveting performances all the way through, including Max Robinson as Desdemona's angry father, Brabantio; Jeremiah Wiggins as Cassio, Othello's friend and lieutenant, and Dan Domingues as Roderigo, a wealthy young Venetian who is also in love with Desdemona.
Guest designers Peter Harrison's striking scenery and David Kay Mickelsen's stunning costumes add to Pioneer Theatre Company's "Broadway quality" look.
"Othello" may not meet the "chick flick" criteria for the month of romance, but it's a powerful rendering of Shakespeare's intricately plotted tragedy of love murderously gone awry.
Sensitivity rating: May be too dark and intense for younger children.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com