My Adaptation of Othello

Oscar Description of Adaptation: I have chosen to do a modern day Othello adaptation. In my adaptation, a married couple returns from a high school reunion but their marriage is never the same again thanks to Oscar’s high school sweetheart. Isabelle plants to seed into Diana’s mind that Oscar is cheating on her, and Diana begins to lose her mind. She has anxiety attacks, and one ultimately throws her over the edge. Diana ends up killing Oscar, Mary, and herself. Eric kills himself right before Diana dies. Rationale for Adaptation: I really liked the story of Othello, and I wanted to make my own version. I chose to have Diana go crazy instead of Oscar, because I think that in today’s time there are more women who are accusing the men in their lives of cheating. In both adaptations that were watching for class, the men are the ones doing the accusing. I wanted to see how the play would work with the roles switched. I still kept Oscar as a black man because I wanted to keep the feel of Othello, but I changed a lot of the other characters from male to female in order for it to work. Plot: At a thirtieth high school reunion, Isabelle spots Ruth and they begin to catch up. Ruth then discloses to Isabelle that she wishes that Oscar was not with Diana and that she wanted to be with him. Isabelle then informs Ruth that the two were in fact separated and a divorce was on the way. She also tells Ruth that she is trying to make the divorce happen sooner and she will drop in a good word to Oscar. After the reunion, things are never the same for married couple Oscar and Diana. Every Tuesday, Diana and Isabelle have tea at noon. The Tuesday after the reunion, Isabelle tells Diana that she noticed that Mary was too cozy with Oscar at the reunion. Mary is Oscar’s high school sweetheart, but their relationship ended when they went to two different colleges. Diana states that she did not notice, but also discloses that there is nothing happening and that her marriage is healthy and they are happy. That night, Diana asks Oscar if he had fun at the reunion. He tells her that he has and that he enjoyed seeing everyone, especially Mary. Diana asks him why he enjoyed seeing Mary and he tells her that they had been such close friends, and that it was nice catching up with her. Diana begins to wonder what the nature of their relationship is and if Isabelle is right. She does not want to believe her. The next week, Isabelle asks Diana if she has noticed if Mary was still coming around. Diana states that she has not seen her, but that Oscar has seemed more preoccupied than usual. She tells Isabelle that his phone is always going off and he won’t let her answer it. Isabelle tells her that it is probably Mary and he doesn’t want Diana to know that they are conversing. Diana did not tell Isabelle about her conversation with Oscar, but kept it in the back of her mind. Diana begins to believe Isabelle. She starts having conversations with herself about what she could have done to prevent it and what she needs to do to keep it from going any further. Isabelle calls Diana daily to check the status of the issues, driving Diana into a deep whole of depression and anxiety. Diana begins to have anxiety attacks, and she begins to panic about her marriage. A couple of days later, Oscar is showering when his phone rings. Diana looks at the caller ID and it says “Isabelle.” Diana does not answer, but instead she looks through his call history. She notices that he has talked to Mary quite a bit the last couple of weeks, and made a mental note to ask him later about it. After his shower, they have a conversation. Oscar tells Diana that Mary had said the funniest thing that day. Diana asks him why he spoke to Mary, and he informs her that they have kept in contact but it is just friendly. The next day, Diana calls Isabelle and tells her the new information. Isabelle informs her that he is indeed having an affair and invites herself over to comfort Diana. Diana accepts the invitation and the two are soon united. Halfway into their conversation, Isabelle excuses herself to the bathroom. Instead of going to the bathroom, she goes into Oscar and Diana’s bedroom. There she finds Oscar’s favorite tie that Diana had gotten them as a one year wedding present. Isabelle calls her husband, Eric, and asks him to get the tie that night when he was over for game night. When Eric returns home after game night, he gives the tie to Isabelle, and asks what she is going to do with it. Isabelle does not disclose her plan to him. The next day, Isabelle has a meeting with Mary for lunch. At lunch, Isabelle gives the scarf to Mary, as a present for Mary’s long term boyfriend. Mary is ecstatic and thanks Isabelle for her generosity. As a peace offering, Diana and Oscar invite Isabelle and Eric, and Mary and Ben over for dinner. At dinner, Diana notices that Ben is wearing Oscar’s tie. She then drags Oscar into their room and asks him why Ben has his tie. Oscar denies knowing why Ben has it and how he got it. Diana is convinced that Oscar is cheating on her and that he gave Mary his tie. Midway through dinner, Diana has another anxiety attack, sending her into a rage. In the middle of Oscar’s sentence, Diana stabs him in the neck with a steak knife, killing him. She then runs around the table to Mary and slits her throat. Eric asks Diana what her problem is and she tells the whole room that Oscar was cheating on her with Mary ever since the reunion. Eric tells her that he would never cheat on her and he asks her where she got her information. Diana looks across the table at Isabelle and snarls. Eric asks Isabelle if that was why she wanted Oscar’s tie. Isabelle smiles at Eric. Eric is upset for having helped with Isabelle’s plan and takes his own life. Diana is ashamed of what she has done and does not know why she believed Isabelle. Diana then stabs herself in the heart. Character List and Descriptions: Oscar: A middle aged black man. Diana: A little younger than Oscar. Beautiful and smart. Isabelle: Deviant and a good liar. Has to be able to manipulate people to her advantage. Ruth: Someone who is not perfect. This person has to be able to hide in the background and not be noticed. Mary: This character has to be absolutely stunning. Being the “adulterer,” she has to look and play the part. Eric: This man should be attractive, but also be vulnerable. Ben: This character needs to be someone that Mary would be with. He has to be athletic and attractive to be her perfect partner. Cast: Oscar: Kevin Hart Diana: Reese Witherspoon Isabelle: Cameron Diaz Ruth: Amy Schumer Mary: Megan Fox Eric: Matt Damon Ben: Vin Diesel Costumes: Being that this is a modern adaptation, the cast will wear modern clothing. They are also part of the middle-upper class or the upper class and will look their absolute best.