A gender-swapped, football adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello by DEMASKUS Theater Collective, with a Black woman as head coach of a professional football franchise.
Othello of the End Zone opens at the New Hazlett Theater on Thursday, October 22, running through Sunday, October 25. It's a gender-swapped reimagining of Shakespeare's Othello by the DEMASKUS Theater Collective, and it marks the New Hazlett's first-ever co-production with the company.
Franky D. Gonzalez of Bootstrap Design Co. wrote the adaptation, and Shaunda Miles McDill directs. The story moves the action to the 50-yard line: Imani Othello is named head coach of America's most beloved football franchise, and the play follows her as she navigates the treacherous world of professional sports and her own insecurities. The language is updated and the setting is shifted, but the core remains the same—a Black woman at the height of her power in a world designed to doubt her, played not as a tragic pawn but as a fully realized human being. It's a version that asks what ambition costs.
Cynthia Dallas and Michael Patrick Trimm star in the production. The New Hazlett itself is a historic Northside venue founded to make high-caliber professional performing arts spaces accessible to local creators, and this is its first time partnering with DEMASKUS on a show. Just a heads-up: there's a content warning for strong language.
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There are five performances over the four days. It opens Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 PM, with another evening show Friday, October 23 at 7:30 PM. Saturday, October 24 has a double: a 2 PM matinee and a 7:30 PM evening show, and Sunday, October 25 closes with a 3 PM matinee. Tickets run from $20 to $50, and opening night on Thursday is a pay-what-you-can price starting at $20. You'll find the theater at 6 Allegheny Square East on the Northside.
