Shakespeare’s Othello gets the Jewish treatment in an adaptation by actor-director David Serero, featuring both traditional Judeo-Arabic music and some of Verdi’s operatic score. The production -- presented by the American Sephardi Federation, an organization that preserves and celebrates the varied culture of the Sephardic Jewish diaspora, at the Center for Jewish History -- contains plenty of nods and winks to the crowd’s Sephardic Jewish population.

As the titular Moor, Serero pays tribute to both Othello’s origins as well as his own Moroccan roots (born in Paris, he is of Moroccan Jewish descent). As Othello’s adversary Iago, Christopher Romero Wilson plays the seemingly honest officer who tries to destroy Othello with the requisite snide villainy; he is unflinchingly evil until the bitter end. Ian Cooper’s Cassio is not merely a pawn in this Othello (that role is saved for Roderigo, played by Aaron Hernandez); the nice guy lieutenant on whom Iago tries to pin Desdemona’s affair has a fierceness that emerges when he discovers the wrong done to him.

The female roles, Othello’s wife Desdemona (Elena Barone) and Iago’s wife Emilia (Amanda Vilanova), are performed exquisitely. Both actresses imbue their characters with charm and strength, making their demises all the more bitter. Emilia’s death scene is gut-wrenching and Desdemona’s shocking in its brutality and realism.

With Shawn Chang on piano and Geoff Thomas on Darbuka, a kind of Middle Eastern drum, the music makes this production stand out. In fact, there are not enough of those gorgeous Judeo-Arabic songs. Serero showcases his powerful vocals during Verdi’s aria and the ensemble holds their own next to Serero’s commanding presence (one can really believe he would be General of Venice’s army) while singing.

Serero cleverly adapts the Shakespearean tragedy to a setting in accord with the history of the play and also his own tradition. In a post-performance speech, he speaks about how we need to promote more alliances between our Jewish and Arabic communities. In a world where much of these alliances are broken, this is the most important takeaway from Othello.