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Description
“Othello” is the first time in the 20th century that a black actor played a title role in a major theatrical production. Directed by Margaret Webster, the play was a great success and ran from 1943 to 1945.
The Stanford Daily newspaper, February 26th, 1945, wrote of the play:
“To us, in 1943, Cyprus and Venice and North Africa are no strange lands; they have drawn very close; space and distance shrink to nothing. So, in the presence of Shakespeare’s great humanity, difference of time and manners, race and creed, vanish. We are in the presence of men and women, of ourselves.”
While on Friday, January 19th, 1945 the Sacramento Bee wrote:
“Paul Robeson is cast in the title role and, with his stature, spirit, and skill as a performer he is not easily dominated. He is an imposing figure of a man, physically, towering above the others at six feet three inches and with a voice to match.”
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