“Bruce made such a smart decision in casting more people of color in Othello than just Othello,” said Cherie Corinne Rice, who graced the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis stage when it premiered the iconic tragedy last weekend in Forest Park.
She said this not just because director Bruce Longworth’s decision meant Rice had a job, but because the casting better represents the minority experience.
“When there’s just one person in the entire world who happens to black, it’s really different than when you have other blacks in lower positions and one person with a very high status who is black,” Rice said. “That’s more of how it really is.”
Renowned Broadway actor Billy Eugene Jones plays the “one person with a very high status who is black,” Othello himself. Rice plays Bianca.
“Bianca breaks every rule and is the one who gets to push the limit in terms of innuendo. It’s quite a fun role to play, even if it’s not the largest,” Rice said.
“It’s a really deep role, and Shakespeare flashes her in and out of the play. But I feel like he could do that because you get this person and you know what it is immediately when you see her. I think of her as being temptation personified. She represents the thing that we want more than we should and the things that we will do to get it.”
Rice believes that African Americans will have a special connection to Othello.
“Shakespeare is something that our community doesn’t always have access to,” Rice said. “And I think when you do a play like Othello, people’s ears perk up and they say, ‘Oh, I’m in this one.’”
Othello is a “Moor,” an African, an unusual role for the early modern English playwright.
“This subject matter includes us, and that’s not necessarily true in much of Shakespeare’s work,” Rice said.
“With Othello it’s in there already – we don’t feel like we are being done a favor. Our story is being told,” Rice said.
Not only is the lead role African, but the play is about race.
“It is a story about race and discrimination and interracial marriage, and much of our culture as African Americans includes that,” Rice said.
“He makes us feel like, ‘Oh, we know this world.’”
Shakespearian beginnings
Rice’s fascination with Shakespeare didn’t come after years of formal training in the theatre. Her love for theatre bloomed out of a tween obsession with the updated film version of Romeo and Juliet by Baz Luhrmann that starred Leonardo DiCaprio.
“At the end of the movie, I was undone. I was uncontrollably remorseful for every mistake I had ever made in my 13-year-old life,” Rice said.
“It really made me reflect on myself. Shakespeare made me feel like, ‘This is the way to look at your life and this is how you affect people and what role do you play in the world.’”
The San Francisco native built her career on the strength of Shakespeare. The first monologue she ever learned was from Taming of the Shrew and it was a scene from Antony and Cleopatra that earned her a spot in the prestigious MFA Acting Program at Brown University.
As for this production of Othello, Rice believes an incredible ensemble and equally talented director lend to the magic of the show.
“There’s not a slow moment in the show – it really moves along, and it’s the only way to do Shakespeare,” Rice said.
“I think Bruce really understands that. I believe the reason why people aren’t as attracted to Shakespeare as they should be is because when they see it other people aren’t doing it right. But with this show, maybe you’ll spend the first 20 seconds of the play thinking like, ‘What are they saying? I don’t get it.’ But then you’re in.”
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ presentation of Othello runs through June 17 at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park opposite the Saint Louis Art Museum. For more information, visit www.shakespearefestivalstlouis.org or call (314) 531-9800.
