Quintessence Theatre Group in Mount Airy opens its third season with its third Shakespeare production. With Othello, director Alexander Burns hopes to continue his success with dynamic bare-stage contemporary interpretations, and echoes his inaugural production of Henry V (and Elizabethan theater convention) by casting only men. Ross Bennett Hurwitz makes his Philadelphia debut as Desdemona, the young wife of Venice’s foreign-born general Othello (Khris Davis), with Alexander Harvey and John Schultz playing other female roles. Those fortunate enough to have seen other Quintessence shows, like last season’s superb Merchant of Venice, know Burns isn’t being cute with these choices; instead, he’s challenging the expectations of both actors and audience.
Through Nov. 4, $15-$30, Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., 877-240-6055, quintessencetheatre.org.
