Just call it Iago.

        Giles Davies is smooth and suave, rich with poisonous bonhomie. He is not so much cold as chilling as the man who, passed over for promotion, sets out with cool calculation to destroy everyone who has bypassed him.

        That includes Othello, the title character of Shakespeare's tragedy, but a supporting player in Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival's current revival.

        Mr. Davies performance is so delicious I couldn't help wishing director Michael Burnham had decided to set the action in the executive suites of a major corporation, say, somewhere in Texas, maybe with congressional hearings as a finale.

        But a contemporary military milieu works fine as the action plays out on a spare stage of elegantly marbled levels.

        Othello (Aaron Todd Douglas) is a military hero but also a Moor, so a highly placed Venetian family is less than thrilled when the dark-skinned general elopes with the young, blond daughter of the house, Desdemona (Elise Hedblom).

        Othello is sent to a command in Cyprus, but Iago is the snake in what was intended to be an idyllic honeymoon, playing like a virtuoso on everyone's weaknesses, particularly Othello's unreasoning jealousy.

        Mr. Davies is so persuasive as Iago that for once it's easy to understand how Othello trusts him and not fair Desdemona.

        Mr. Burnham has great fun looking at Othello from a slightly side angle, promoting not just Iago but his wife, Emilia, maid to Desdemona, to center stage.

        Mr. Burnham does some necessary editing of the text, and Anne E. Schilling generates so much righteous rage for Emilia's face-off with her wicked hubbie that their confrontation carries more high drama than Desdemona's famous death scene.

        Who knows what the balance of the play would have been if Mr. Douglas weren't an 11th-hour replacement in the title role? (He joined rehearsals less than a week before opening night.)

        As it is, he and Ms. Hedblom haven't established an essential chemistry. This is the second time Mr. Douglas takes the role for the festival, but while he isn't walking through it, he hasn't mastered it.

        Ms. Hedblom contributes to the problem by giving off mixed signals as Desdemona, sometimes girlish, sometimes too mature for her character's choices to make sense.

        Their lack of connection makes Desdemona's murder scene play out like a bizarre debate.

        Ms. Hedblom is also undone by her costuming (by Susan Neason). She's the dowdiest woman on the stage. And why do days go by without her changing her dress?

        One of the best things about Othello is the way it harks back to the festival's early days.

        The founding members are eight years older than when they first appeared on the festival stage. (Which puts them in their early 30s.)

        There's something wonderful about being reminded of a young, untested troupe alive with energy. (This ensemble is more consistently talented than the original company was in its trial performances.)

        Mr. Burnham gets passionate performances from the company, and they connect with their characters as what they are — young people.

        Michael Ingersoll holds the stage as Cassio, Othello's noble young lieutenant and Iago's other primary victim. Leanna Hieber makes an impact as Bianca, the courtesan who loves him, and Christopher Guthrie continues to impress in smaller roles. He has mastered the art of listening.

        Nick Rose makes typically intriguing choices as Roderigo, Iago's dupe. He plays him like a rich boy slacker, which is probably one of the only ways to explain the many stupid things Roderigo does.

        While Mr. Rose nails the role, as one of those near-ancient festival founding members, it might have made more sense to cast one of the younger players.
        Othello, through March 31, Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival, 719 Race St. 381-2273.

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