Buy Tickets From the 2011-2012 Season: Desdemona, A Play About a Handkerchief Playing July 08, 2011 to July 24, 2011

No preview performances

Megan Rose Houchins, Jaclyn Hoffman, Kelly Criss

by Paula Vogel
Late Night Show (11pm performances only) July 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23
8pm Industry Night Monday July 11

All tickets $15. General Admission Seating

In the tradition of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead comes this smart, sexy, funny behind-the-scenes take on Shakespeare’s Othello from Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel (The Baltimore Waltz, How I Learned to Drive). Desdemona’s frantic search for her infamous missing linen sparks Vogel’s search for what it means to be a woman. Struggling valiantly against class barriers, sexual repression and dirty laundry, can Desdemona chart her own course? Or will the forces of an inescapable dramatic narrative undermine her? Come find out!

**Food not available for 11pm performances. Food IS available for Monday July 11 show.
Front Lobby bar open beforehand.
Lobby opens at 10pm (6:15pm Monday July 11)
House opens at 10:30pm (6:45pm July 11)**

Produced by Biscuits and Gravy in association with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company.


Desdemona, A Play About a Handkerchief is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.


Read the Plot Synopsis

Having slept with Othello’s entire encampment, Desdemona revels in her bawdy tales of conquest. Her foils and rapt listeners are the other integral and re-imagined women of this Shakespeare tragedy: Emilia, Desdemona’s servant and the wife of Iago, and Bianca, now a majestic whore of Cyprus. The reluctantly loyal Emilia pesters Desdemona about a military promotion for her husband. Her motive, however, is that he leave her a wealthy widow, preferably sooner than later. Bianca, now a street-wise, yet painfully naive prostitute, visits Desdemona thinking she is a very good friend and fellow hooker (at least one night a week). Bianca thinks the worst when she soon discovers that Desdemona knows intimate details of the life of her lover, Cassio. Though Desdemona has never been intimate with Cassio, her life is soon in danger when her husband, Othello, also suspects her of infidelity.

Director's Notes

Directed by Curtis Krick

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Show Information

Duration

90 minutes, no intermission

Show Roles

Megan Rose Houchins
Jaclyn Hoffman
Kelly Criss

Show Times
Shows at the New American Shakespeare Tavern begin at 7:30pm, except on Sundays, when they begin at 6:30pm

Bardometer Rating

How difficult is this Shakespearean play to grasp? On a scale of 1 to 10.
5
 
What does rating this mean?

These are plays you may have read in high school or college. The plot is fairly uncomplicated, though some of the themes may be dense or dark. These plays may include supernatural elements, straight-forward politics, historical content or religious content. (In these cases, we offer a synopsis with important historical or contextual explanations which you may read in the Playbill before the show.) In these plays, there may also be bawdy language and certain adult situations, and the language may be hard to follow for a first-timer.

We recommend this type of play to High School and College Students, casual theatre-goers, people who like mainstream films and reading “The Onion”, and Shakespeare lovers who enjoy delving into the Elizabethan world.

How to prepare for seeing this kind of play: You may wish to read the synopsis we provide (and maybe your notes from Literature Class). Or simply do a small amount of internet research. No worries – you won’t get lost.

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