Julius Caesar (2010)
Opening Night: July 29, 2010
Closing: August 14, 2010
Theater: Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a favorite for all ages, the commoners rejoice over Caesar’s triumph over Pompey while the patricians, fearing his irresistable ambition, conspire against him and enlist the noble Brutus to their cause with the manipulation of wily Cassius. After their plot is successful and Caesar is assassinated, Mark Antony incites the rabble against the conspirators with uncanny rhetorical skill, then allies with Octavius Caesar and Lepidus against Brutus and Cassius. Octavius’ army prevails and Cassius and Brutus are forced to accept defeat by falling on their own swords.
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August 6, 2010
When Cassius declares, “I … have bared my bosom to the thunder-stone,” what the audience sees is that noble Roman’s open blouse with a black bra underneath. Cross-dressing actors and cross-gender casting having become so common, it’s hard to say which would be less surprising these days: an actor in women’s clothing or an actress playing Cassius. In this case, the Drilling Company’s new production of “Julius Caesar,” it’s Selene Beretta as Cassius, and she gives a fierce, powerful performance in a tight skirt and high heels as the leader of the assassins who murder Caesar on the Ides of March.
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August 6, 2010
It’s hard to tell where we’re supposed to be in the Drilling Company’s muddled production of "Julius Caesar," presented for free in a municipal parking lot on the Lower East Side. Everyone is wearing contemporary clothing, and the press material tells us it’s set in an urban school, with mighty Caesar cast as the power-hungry principal, the senators as teachers and parents, and the Roman rabble as students. Yet the production opens as if we’re in the middle of a political campaign, with "Happy Days Are Here Again" playing in the background while cast members parade around with signs for and against the election of the titular leader. There are also hints we’re in the business world, with executives trailed by iPhone-toting entourages. Director Hamilton Clancy, who also plays Caesar and is the founder and artistic director of the company, should have chosen one concept or the other.
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