Coho Theater, 2257 NW Raleigh, 1-888-282-6630, Thurs–Sat 8 pm, Sun 7pm, closes Aug. 21, $10-15

I am such an admirer of Paula Vogel's plays I would probably go see one even if the cast of Reba were headlining. She's innovative, intelligent, and at times hilarious. Her Shakespeare-skewing Desdemona... A Play About a Handkerchief occurs behind the scenes of Othello. Taking place just before Othello smothers Desdemona, the action concerns the original play's three principal women: Desdemona, her servant Emilia (also Iago's wife), and local tart Bianca. With numerous short scenes it's essentially an hour and a half of girl talk wherein class and gender are touched upon as much as men's penises are compared. The dialogue is intimate, sharp, and appropriately anachronistic.

The acting in upstart Portland company Home Planet's production is commendable. The actors, for the most part, "get" the story and deliver Vogel's loaded words and phrases skillfully. Notable among the cast is Christy Hernquist. At first Hernquist's Bianca was a little too trashy for me, but she became more charming as things progressed, with surprising nuances poking through the overt huss-itude. Meanwhile, Stephanie Danna (Desdemona) and Amanda Soden (Emilia) were just as good—as spot-on when being humorous as when being bitchy, and frequently intertwining the two.

Home Planet faltered in the play's final scene—one that Vogel's text had me anticipating even on the ride over to the theater. These last pages are haunting and understated, with an air of hopelessness—the audience and the characters are in concert as to what occurs next, and we know it's not going to be pretty. But Home Planet's rendition of this crucial moment was a misread that didn't do it the justice it deserves. Danna's Desdemona and Soden's Emilia were much too flippant about the ensuing tragedy. I realize this may have been a feminist reading of the outcome (big black man kills little white woman), but in the lighthearted shuffle, Desdemona's strongest element was lost—its comment on the (then) inevitable subordination of women, and the (then and now?) barbarism of men.