Past Productions: Julius Caesar

"Think David Lynch ambiguity, Richard Kelly's surreal style, Kennedy-era fashion and the monochromes and cigarettes of TV's "Mad Men" and you have some idea of this dreamscape." –Variety

JULIUS CAESAR

by William Shakespeare
directed by Arthur Nauzyciel

February 9 - March 16, 2008
Loeb Drama Center

photos - cast & credits - synopsis - related links - restaurants

One of the greatest theatrical studies of tyranny, revolution, and civil war, Julius Caesar is also a highly personal play – a breathless, gripping portrayal of friendships and alliances torn apart by political ambition and the intoxicating effects of power. Centered around three of Shakespeare’s most vivid characters – Caesar, Brutus, and the young Mark Antony – the play contrasts a vast historical canvas with the private fears and dreams of men whose words can change the world. This is the first production of Julius Caesar in the A.R.T.’s history, staged by the talented young French director Arthur Nauzyciel.

Produced in partnership with the Centre Dramatique National/Orléans-Loiret-Centre (France)

Right: Jim True-Frost, Remo Airaldi, and Thomas Derrah. Photo: Michael Lutch.

PHOTOS - click any image for slide show

CAST & CREDITS

Marcus Brutus	... Jim True-Frost	Mark Anthony	... James Waterston
Portia/Calpurnia	... Sara Kathryn Bakker	Octavius	... Thomas Kelley
Lucius, the boy	... Jared Craig	Lepidus	... Will LeBow
Julius Caesar	... Thomas Derrah	Cicero	... Jeremy Geidt
Cassius	... Mark L. Montgomery	Soothsayer	... Kunal Prasad
Casca	... Remo Airaldi	scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez
Trebonius	... Daniel Le	costume design by James Schuette
Decius Brutus	... Neil Patrick Stewart	lighting design by Scott Zielinski
Metellus Cimber	... Gardiner Comfort	sound design by David Remedios
Cinna	... Perry Jackson

Additional roles will be played by members of the ensemble.

Jazz Trio: Blake Newman, Bass; Eric Hofbauer, Guitar; Marianne Solivan, Singer.

SYNOPSIS

Fearing Julius Caesar’s rising power, Caius Cassius assembles a group of conspirators to assassinate Caesar. After much effort, Cassius persuades Marcus Brutus, a friend of Caesar’s and one of Rome’s most respected citizens, to join the conspirators’ cause. On the Ides of March, Caesar ignores multiple warnings and attends the Senate, where the conspirators murder him. In the aftermath of the assassination, the conspirators permit Mark Antony, Caesar’s right-hand man, to deliver the funeral oration. After Brutus convinces the crowd that the conspirators acted justly, Antony eulogizes Caesar and turns the public against the conspirators. Civil war erupts in Rome, and two factions form: one led by Cassius and Brutus, the other by Antony and Caesar’s nephew Octavius.

RELATED LINKS

ARTicles
- Welcome - from Acting Artistic Director Gideon Lester
- Memories of the Future - Gideon Lester talks to director Arthur Nauzyciel
- As Sassy As You Dare! - The aesthetics of Arthur Nauzyciel - by Njål Mjøs
- It Came, It Saw, It Conquered - Shakespeare’s Caesar through Political Strife - by Sean Bartley
- ARTicles Vol. 6 No. 3 - entire issue as PDF, requires free reader version 6 or later from Adobe.com
Program
- The Power of Speech - by Gideon Lester
- Shakespeare and Plutarch - Marshall Botvinick
- entire booklet as PDF
Media Coverage
- Boston Globe - Julius Caesar makes play on American politics - by Louise Kennedy
- Boston Globe - ART, director shake up 'Julius Caesar' - by Megan Tench
- Edge Boston - review by Kilian Melloy
- Harvard Crimson - A.R.T.'s Modern 'Julius Caesar' Says It Right - by Melanie E. Long
- TheatreMania.com - review by Sandy MacDonald
- Tufts Daily News - review by Hannah Ehrlich
On the ARTblog
- Introducing Julius Caesar
- all Julius Caesar posts
Rome/London/Boston: Reflections on Arthur Nauzyciel’s Julius Caesar and contemporary theatre -
audio podcast of symposium sponsored by A.R.T. and Center for European Studies at Harvard, February 19, 2008

Get the poster by designer Burt Sun via Zazzle.com

This page updated March 17, 2008
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