Vogel, Paula - Steven Winn (review date 17 October 2000)
Steven Winn (review date 17 October 2000)
SOURCE: Winn, Steven. “A Double Dose of Sexual Politics.” San Francisco Chronicle (17 October 2000): B2.
[In the following excerpted positive assessment of Desdemona, Winn praises Vogel's canny revision of the character of Desdemona.]
A double bill of Dutchman and Desdemona at the Phoenix Theatre packs an invigorating night of sexual politics into one of the city's smallest theaters. The Bare Bones Theatre pairing of the 1964 subway car classic by Imamu Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones) and Paula Vogel's 1993 backroom slant on Othello is a canny one. Here, in their distant arenas, are two similar dances along the precipice. Both plays confront transgression against the norm and the violence lurking behind the facade. …
A spotlit handkerchief suspended overhead at the start of Desdemona signals Vogel's faithfulness to Shakespeare. True to the...
[The entire page is 330 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Related Topics
