Aaron Andrade Stars in Franklin Performing Arts Company's OTHELLO This Weekend

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) presents Shakespeare's legendary tragedy OTHELLO. The production will be staged at THE BLACK BOX, the company's home and performance venue located at 15 West Central Street in downtown Franklin. Performances are tonight, January 22, and Saturday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on January 24.

Shakespeare's timeless drama about the Moorish warrior OTHELLO, his beloved Desdemona, and the insidious villain Iago is a gripping masterpiece that ranks among his greatest works. The edge-of-your-seat thriller is a passionate and powerful drama full of jealousy, betrayal and heartbreak. Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) proudly presents a contemporary adaptation of OTHELLO, directed by and starring Aaron Andrade in the title role.

In OTHELLO, audiences will find "a story that has endured centuries and yet still finds a way to hit us close to home," says Andrade. Set in the eternal now of La Cosa Nostra ("This thing of ours"), FPAC's OTHELLO resides in the cities of Providence, the sister city of Venice, and in Boston, Massachusetts. As described by Andrade, "In our version, the character of OTHELLO is reborn as an African-American man who has proven his loyalty and worth to 'The Men on the Hill,' and is given his own crew. We also meet his English-born assistente, Iago, a man embittered by his position and angry at being passed over for promotion."

Andrade mines the universal themes of trust and betrayal that lie at the heart of Shakespeare's great tragedy: "How could Iago do these things? Why doesn't OTHELLO see through it all?" He notes, "Trust is something we are all defenseless against by its very nature. If someone close to us were to use our trust against us, would we be able to quickly suss out the lie? Or would we only discover the betrayal too late, like the tragic OTHELLO?"

The play has a special significance for the actor: "OTHELLO has followed me a around for more than a decade now. It was my first professional show, at the age of 18."

From Providence, RI, Aaron Andrade has performed throughout New England at such theaters as Trinity Repertory Company, The Trinity Summer Shakespeare Project, Company One, Daydream Theatre Company, Beowulf Theatre and Elemental Theatre Company and as a company member at The Providence Black Repertory Company. He has toured the country in dual-language versions of Don Quixote and Cyrano de Bergerac. Andrade has been featured on screen in the films Future Justice, Flesh for the Inferno, Permanent, Side by Each and many others. Andrade is an adjunct faculty member of Rhode Island College Theater Department and teaches drama at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts.

FPAC's OTHELLO also features Julian Willard (Iago) of Marlborough; Anna Rizzo (Desdemona) of Norwell; Sam Evans (Roderigo) of Medfield; Jamie Lyn Bagley (Emilia) and Hutch Tredici (Duke of Venice) of Providence, RI; Elizabeth Loranth (Bianca) of Sharon; Nick Paone (Cassio), Peter Wyner (Brabantio), Greg Leach (Lodovico), and Jocelyn Jones (Underboss) of Franklin; and Sydney Morgan (Montano) of Smithfield, RI.

Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation is FPAC's 25th Season Premier Sponsor. Tickets are $24, with $15 Student Rush tickets available at the door 15 minutes prior to show time. To purchase tickets, visit www.THEBLACKBOXonline.com or call (508) 528-3370.

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