Shakespeare & Company Opens May 21
Road Production of Julius Caesar Comes Home
By: Bob Fowler - May 20, 2010
Shakespeare & Company kicks off its 2010-2011 season May 21 with Shakespeare’s most well known Roman play Julius Caesar , a production fresh off the road after performing to over 50 schools and theatres throughout New England , New York and New Jersey .
S&Co.’s usual range of discounting options are available for this performance , including discounts for groups , students , Seniors , and the very popular 40% Berkshire Resident Discount. The Bernstein is wheelchair accessible and hearing aid assisted. Contact the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or boxoffice@shakespeare.org to order tickets or learn more about discount availability , or order tickets from www.shakespeare.org
. The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre is wheelchair-accessible.
This non-Equity production of Julius Caesar includes a revved-up , 90-minute cut of the play , performed by a six-member cast who take on multiple roles , placing the focus on a clear and powerful delivery of Shakespeare’s text. The production is modeled after Shakespeare’s own touring shows , which took to the countryside when the plague shook L ondon and closed down the theatres. The actors are Katherine Abbruzzese , Jake Berger , Dani Cervone , Sean Kazarian , Andy Talen and Ryan Winkles . Though composed of talented young actors on the rise , the cast is stocked with actors already familiar to S&Co. audiences. Winkles recently earned rave reviews for his performance in S&Co.’s Hound of the Baskervilles , and has also been seen in Othello , The Merry Wives of Windsor , and the 2007 Tour. Talen was seen in All’s Well That Ends Well , and Berger and Kazarian are veterans of past Tours as well. The costumes are designed by Govane L ohbauer , with sound design by Michael Pfeiffer , lighting design by Christian Schmit , and set construction and design by Christian Schmit and Jonathan Croy .
A staple of school curricula and dotted with some of the most memorable and enduring turns of phrase in the English language , Julius Caesar is a favorite choice for experienced students of Shakespeare and newcomers alike. Shakespeare’s account of the conspiracy to kill Caesar , and the wild struggle to achieve order from the chaos that resulted , is loved by students of all ages for the clarity and beauty of its language.
Written in 1599, and one of Shakespeare’s most studied and performed plays Julius Caesar offers a remarkably accurate account of what actually occurred during his reign in 44 BC. As the conqueror of Gaul and the victor in a civil war against Pompey, Caesar’s power was close to absolute. But the Senate, with its squabbling nobles, survived as a symbol of what remained of the once mighty Roman Republic . It was in the name of this republic that the plot against Caesar was hatched. However, while Caesar was murdered, the republic’s defenders Brutus and Cassius, were in turn soon defeated by Mark Antony and Octavious Caesar. It’s clear that Shakespeare drew from Plutarch’s Lives of the Nobel Grecians and Romans however, he focuses mostly on specific dates and events and adds ambiguity to the main characters, portraying Caesar as both demigod and mortal, Mark Antony as both loyal and opportunistic, and Brutus both idealistic and vain.
“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones…” Julius Caesar, Act III, Sc. II.
Director Jonathan Croy, now in his twenty-fifth season with the Company, directed last year’s critically acclaimed Twelfth Night on the S&Co. mainstage. With over 40 roles at S&Co., his credits include The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Taming of the Shrew, King John, Much Ado About Nothing Henry V, The Tempest, CompleteWorks abridged, Twelfth Night, Richard III A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors, Custom of the Country, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing. Jon has directed many New England Tours of Shakespeare, Shakespeare in the Courts programs, Summer Institute productions, Shakespeare & Young Company performances, and more than 30 other in-school Residencies. Regional acting credits: NY Shakespeare Festival, Missouri Rep, NC Shakespeare Festival, and Virginia Shakespeare Festival.