Adeptly trimmed to a brisk eighty minutes by Theatricum Botanicum legend Ellen Geer and filled with as much action as it is with political intrigue, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar adds up to classical theater as thrillingly staged as it is easily accessible to 21st Century audiences.

If any Shakespeare tragedy resonates as powerfully in 2021 as it did way back in 1599, Julius Caesar is that play, one that casts its often-cynical eye on the behind-the-scenes political machinations that can bring about the downfall of one leader and the rise of another, and in so doing propel counter-revolutionary forces bent on righting the wrongs of both.

The leader in question is, of course, the titular Gaius Julius Caesar (Mark Lewis), whose assassination on “The Ides of March” (i.e. March 15, 44 BC) triggered the end of the Roman Republic.

Shakespeare introduces us to Caesar’s top two assassins, Cassius (Melora Marshall) and Brutus (Christopher W. Jones), the former motivated by envy and a lust for power, the latter by a fear (stoked by none other than Cassius) that his best friend, the conquering war hero Caesar, has grown overly ambitious, an ambition that might soon turn Rome into a dictatorship.

When a coalition of Caesar’s enemies assassinate him with a grand total of thirty-three stab wounds (Et tu, Brute’s among them), Marc Antony (Michael McFall) and his supporters take it upon themselves to battle Caesar’s murderers to the death.

If Julius Caesar, easily one of Shakespeare’s most political plays, has continued to be one of his most popular for the past four centuries, much of its enduring success stems from just how timeless it remains, the machinations of its lead characters repeated again and again throughout history all the way up to the present day.

I have no idea how Geer (co-directing with her daughter Willow) has managed to trim the Shakespeare original to just over half its 20,000 words (and leave about twenty named characters on the cutting room floor), but manage it she has, and with “Narrator” Gerald Rivers providing occasional Geer-scripted commentary along the way, this Julius Caesar is as easy to follow as it is exciting to watch, with full advantage being taken of Theatricum’s expansive set and the wooded hills behind it.

Performances shine brightly, in particular Jones’ passionate, conflicted Brutus and Marshall’s compellingly lean-and-hungry Cassius, and McFall’s Mark Antony delivers a truly mesmerizing “Friends, Romans, Countrymen.”

Matthew Domenico (Martellus Cimber), Steven C. Fisher (Trebonius), and Franc Ross (Casca) create three dynamic, distinctly rendered conspirators, Max Lawrence commands the stage as Marcellus, and charismatic Eric Flores makes a striking impression when Octavius makes his eleventh-hour appearance.

Lewis proves a memorably multifaceted Caesar, with Cindy Kania-Guastaferro and Willow Geer delivering brief, impassioned turns as wives Calpurnia and Portia, and Rivers making for an wry, avuncular Narrator and a suitably mysterious Soothsayer.

Rounding out the hard-working, multitasking cast are Steven Taub Gordon (Pindarus), Colin Guthrie (Lepidus), Citizens Tim Frangos, Joey Major, Jacob Salazar, and Lawrence Sonderling and Servants Gabbi Beavais (Lucius) and Sky Wahl, Soldiers Joseph Bricker, Tim Frangos, Frank Gress, and Patrick Olsen, and Citizens Grace Hawthorn, Leesa Kim, and Alexandra Kunin.

Fight choreographer Cavin (CR) Mohrhardt’s absolutely thrilling swordplay between enemy armies has been stunningly lit by Zachary Moore (a good reason to see an evening performance), with swords and other assorted paraphernalia provided by properties master Alexander Sheldon.

Tracy Wahl’s costumes take us all the way back to ancient Rome, while Marshall McDaniel’s original music ups the drama and suspense throughout. (McDaniel and Grant Escandón are the production’s expert sound designers.)

Kim Cameron is stage manager and JP Pollinger is assistant stage manager. Bri Pattillo is associate lighting designer and Beth Eslick is wardrobe supervisor. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

 A later than usual season means that audiences have until late October/early November to catch Theatricum Botanicum’s welcome return to the Topanga hills. Like the concurrently running A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Last, Best Small Town, Julius Caesar is not to be missed.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga.
www.theatricum.com

–Steven Stanley
September 5, 2021
Photos: Ian Flanders

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Theatricum Botanicum, William Shakespeare