All-Women OTHELLO to Lead The CENTER’s 20th Annual Shakespeare Festival
The production will feature Chantez Engeleit as Othello and Melissa Matthews as Iago, directed by Michael Juzwak.
This April, The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck will mark the 20th year of its Sam Scripps Shakespeare Festival with a production of Othello that places women in every role.
Running April 10 -19 on The CENTER's replica of Shakespeare's London Globe stage, Othello is directed by longtime CENTER artist Michael Juzwak, with Emily DePew serving as assistant director, and features an all-woman cast in a modern setting.
Set in a contemporary world, the play's enduring themes of racism, patriarchy, and the destructive force of jealousy are brought into sharp focus through this lens. By removing traditional expectations of gender on stage, the production examines power structures in a way that encourages the audience to confront the systems that drive the tragedy. In the spirit of accessibility and education, Othello will also include two free in-house field trip performances for local schools.
At the center of the story is the title character, played by Chantez Engeleit, a respected general undone by manipulation and internalized doubt. Opposite Othello is Iago, played by Melissa Matthews, one of Shakespeare's most chilling antagonists, whose ability to manipulate the desires of others makes for a compelling and dangerous force.
The production utilizes an adaptation by the late Lou Trapani, Founding Managing Director of The CENTER, whose influence continues to shape the organization's approach to Shakespeare. At the heart of the festival's legacy is The CENTER's replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, where Othello will be staged. Inspired by the historic Globe Theatre in London, the set is reconstructed for performances each year and remains a defining feature of the festival over the past two decades. Named in honor of Sam Scripps, a philanthropist and artist, the festival recognizes a central force behind The CENTER, who was also a major contributor to the establishment of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
While Othello serves as the central offering of this anniversary season, it is presented alongside a range of programming that reflects The CENTER's ongoing engagement with Shakespeare across forms and interpretations. Additional performances include two Black Box productions: Stars, a contemporary musical inspired by Twelfth Night; a staged reading of The Merry Wives of Windsor by Livingroom Shakespeare; and a youth production of Macbeth on the Main Stage as part of the Saturday Morning Family Series.
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