Arts & Entertainment
Dueling ‘Othellos’
Synetic brings its trademark moves to its production while Folgers goes traditional route
Owiso Odera and Ian Merrill Peakes in the Folger Theatre production. (Photo by Carol Pratt; courtesy of Folger Theatre)
‘Othello’
Through December
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol Street, SE
$30-$65
202-544-7077
folger.edu‘Othello’
Closes Sunday
Synetic Theater
1800 South Bell Street, Crystal City
$25-$55
800-494-8497
synetictheater.org
Jealousy can be a dangerous emotion. In Shakespeare’s “Othello,” it’s downright lethal. Local audiences can see two vastly different takes on the dark drama at the Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill, and (if you act fast) Synetic Theater in Crystal City.
Director Robert Richmond’s Folger production sets the action during the Crusades and casts Othello as a Templar Knight, underlining the Moor’s unparalleled ascent to power. As Othello, Owiso Odera displays an innate princely confidence and occasional cockiness that works beautifully to further ignite the fury of his secretly sworn enemy Iago, played by a charmingly villainous Ian Merrill Peakes. From the start, the audience is made aware of the extent of Iago’s shocking duplicity and expects him, like most of Shakespeare’s bad guys, to meet his fate at the end of a blade by the end of the evening. Instead he’s sentenced to a smorgasbord of torture.
Despite some hammy moments, Richmond’s “Othello” is an exciting and visceral interpretation. When Odera’s darkly handsome Othello awakens a sleeping Desdemona (the luminous Janie Brookshire) to punish her for alleged sexual misdeeds with her friend Cassio (Thomas Keegan) by strangling her to death (it takes several tries before she eventually dies), it’s intense for sure. And the subsequent scenes in which Iago’s distraught wife Emilia (Karen Peakes) reveals Iago’s ongoing deception and quickly meets a horrific fate, followed by Othello’s devastating realization and a tragic ending of his own, are equally compelling.
This production reunites gay designers William Ivey Long and Tony Cisek who collaborated on last season’s Folger hit “Henry VIII.” Both take brilliant advantage of the tragedy’s disparate regions and climes. As the action moves from Venice via sea to Cyprus, Long’s costumes change from capes, fur-trimmed coats and chain mail to open shirts and sandals. Similarly, Cisek’s dazzling set morphs from a towering canopy bed elaborately crowned in carved wood to magistrate’s office to billowing ship sails to a fabulously appointed Bedouin tent (not entirely Cyprian, but beautiful still).
Synetic’s “Othello” is the second of three revivals featured in the terrific company’s “Speak No More: The Silent Shakespeare Festival.” As the title suggests, the 90-minute show is interpreted solely through movement. And while the uber-fit actors don’t utter a peep about a “green-eyed monster” or “beast with two backs,” all the elements of jealousy and lusty passion are fully conveyed through Paata Tsikurishvili smart staging and Irina Tsikurishvili’s insanely inventive and sexy choreography.
Instead of one of Iago, Synetic has opted to go with three. They’re united when the primary Iago played by a maniacally gleeful Philip Fletcher (who is gay) pulls his two alter egos (Synetic vets Alex Mills and Irina Tsikurishvili) through a Mylar mirror. At times the potent trio overpowers the production’s Othello (Roger Payano), but never for too long. The talented and well built Payano definitely holds his own among a strong cast. In fact, it was Payano who first inspired Synetic to mount “Othello” when it premiered last season.
In ways, the challenge with “Othello” is to buy into Iago’s all-consuming hate for the title character and to believe a man will turn on his beloved wife based on pretty flimsy evidence. Both productions do well convincing on these counts; still, as with so much of Shakespeare, audiences just have to go with it, remembering that jealousy can make people do ugly things.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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