Deep in our hearts, most of us actually cheer, rather than boo the villain. There's something attractive about someone who flaunts the moral order and wreaks wanton destruction, heedless of the consequences.
It's not that we want to do the dastardly things villains do. It's their ATTITUDE we admire. Even if they are caught and punished, good villains can laugh all the way to oblivion because they no longer care what happens. They have gone beyond conscience and shame.
Deep down we ALL long to be released from the burden of our guilt. Next to being forgiven, which requires humility, repentance, submission to Authority, correction and instruction, getting away with our sins seems like the next best option.
And anyway, "bad boys" are cool.
Among Shakespeare's unrepentant, perfidious villains, my favorites are Richard III, Lady Macbeth and Iago. John Hutton's extraordinary portrayal of Iago in the Denver Center Theatre Company's production of Othello is the ultimate guilty pleasure.
What a performance! Hutton prowls around the stage, plotting, manipulating, pretending friendship here, casting doubts there, exploiting every opportunity, and back-stabbing (literally) when the situation warrants it. It's the ultimate dance macabre, as this officer, thrice passed over for promotion, wreaks havoc on his commanding officer, a rival soldier, and several hapless, innocent pawns. His villainy knows no bounds, and the versatility with which Hutton's Iago conceives and executes his diabolical plan is nothing short of genius, except for two fatal mistakes: trusting his own wife, and failing to finish off a "weak link" co-conspirator right away.
Rarely does a super-villain of this magnitude have a worthy opponent, and while Robert Jason Jackson's proud Othello is no pushover, he never sees it coming, and has no means of defense as Iago fans the flames of jealousy by hinting that Othello's wife Desdemona is unfaithful. Only in his destruction and tragic realization of what he's done can Othello reveal his heroic character, but it's too late to save the day.
Desdemona, dressed in white like a sacrificial lamb, is beautifully played by Meghan Wolf. Though capable of deceiving her sputtering, tyrannical father (Philip Pleasants), she is loyal unto death to her husband. David Ivers is a hoot as the weak-minded, chicken-hearted would-be wooer of Desdemona, and Harry Carnahan adds unexpected pathos to the role of the golden boy Cassio, a worthy but disgraced officer with a drinking problem and a temper to match.
The only character with enough intelligence and free will, but alas lacking the power and wherewithal to take Iago head on is his wife Emilia, played with exceptional passion, intelligence and complexity by Kathleen McCall. It never occurred to me until this production, with McCall's performance under Kent Thompson's masterful direction, how pivotal a character Emilia really is.
And Thompson's direction, with this theatre-in-the-round production, is superb. He recognizes that this actually isn't a play about an interracial marriage, as it's often been depicted, though more than one character seems to be motivated by racial prejudice. No, it's really about Iago having nothing left to lose, bringing down everyone and everything he can and having fun in the process.
Allison Pistorius has a memorable scene and a half as Cassio's courtesan Bianca, locally revered actors John Arp and Geoffrey Kent have appropriately moved up to the big time by joining the DCTC, and Peasants and Randy Moore are welcome veterans of the company. Finally, I want to mention Caitlin Wise because she didn't thumb her nose at the thankless and entirely superfluous role of "Wench."
But really, this play belongs to John Hutton, and he runs with it. So now YOU need to run TO it. Othello isn't performed all that often, and a production of this caliber, in a small theatre space is rare indeed.
Where else can you cheer the villain AND his wife?
The Denver Center Theatre Company's production of Othello plays through May 1 in The Space Theatre. Call 303-893-4100 or visit www.denvercenter.org for information and to purchase tickets.
