There's a new theater company in town, and they have the boldness to call themselves Minnesota Shakespeare Theater. But it's true that we don't really have a theater company dedicated exclusively to Shakespeare.
Classical Actors Ensemble mostly does Shakespeare (including their annual outdoor Shakespeare in local parks), but as their name implies they occasionally do other classics.
Great River Shakespeare Festival has been doing great work by the river in Winona for over 20 years, but they're a summer festival and also do non-Shakespeare plays. So maybe it is time that #TCTheater had its own Shakespeare company, and judging by their first production, the historical tragedy
Julius Caesar, Minnesota Shakespeare Theater (from the people behind
Shakespearean Youth Theatre) is the one to fill that niche. The play is very well done, with impressive design, a talented cast of #TCTheater veterans and newer actors, and most importantly, a clear presentation of the dialogue and the story. This
Julius Caesar is compelling and urgent, and like so many things these days, feels like an eerily prescient warning call about the dangers of unchecked power. But MST's inaugural production runs for two weekends only, with pretty full houses on opening weekend, so
don't snooze if you want to check out the new Shakespeare game in town. I for one am impressed and intrigued, and can't wait to see what they'll do next.
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Julius and Calpurnia (Craig Johnson and Tinne Rosenmeier)
(photo by Dan Norman) |
Julius Caesar is Shakespeare's retelling of the historical story of the power-hungry Roman general who was assassinated by several members of the senate, but the main character of the play is Brutus, depicted as an honorable but conflicted man who reluctantly agrees to the assassination in order to save the republic. They achieve their goal, but at what cost? A civil war breaks out which leaves most of our characters dead (this is a Shakespearean tragedy, after all). This is the second
historical war play I've seen in a week, and both are a reminder that the history of humanity is a history of war and violence, and there are no winners in war. It feels like we're very much still mired in that history today, and this play shows us that even if the intentions may be noble, violence only leads to more violence.
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| photo by Dan Norman |
Artistic director of MST (and SYT) Logan Verdoorn directs the play, and it all feels very thoughtful and intentional and clear. The entire cast shows an understanding of the text and the story, and therefore the audience understands it as well. The bold design choices also contribute to the clarity and urgency of the piece. The performance space at the Crane is strewn with what look like huge chunks of concrete, red paint splattered on the walls and floors, confetti littering the space (and spoiler alert - this set is not stationary). Startling lighting changes and loud noises punctuate scenes, so that the story resonates in the bones. The cast is dressed in modern classic clothing, but during battle they use those old timey radio phones like in WWII, setting us perhaps somewhere in the last century, or really anytime in the modern era. Caesar wears a classic white trench coat (the better to show the red red blood), the conspirators in black, the wives in beautiful dresses. For the Act II battle scenes, the cast is dressed in khaki colors of army uniforms, with some impressive and very physical fight scenes. (Scenic design by Logan Verdoorn and Maria Signorelli, lighting design by Jake Otto, sound design by Kevin Springer, costume design by Eleanor Schanilec, movement and fight choreography by Annie Enneking.)
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Zachary Hodgkins as Brutus
(photo by Dan Norman) |
#TCTheater veteran Craig Johnson anchors the cast in the title role (with a memorable entrance), the confident and powerful Julius Caesar, but not without doubts and uncertainty as he faces "the Ides of March." But as mentioned above, Brutus is the heart of this story, and new-to-me Zachary Hodgkins is lovely as the thoughtful and sensitive senator, who does what he thinks is best, and is horrified by the chaos that results. Lukas Brasherfons (associate Artistic Director of MST and SYT) is also strong as Brutus' right-hand-man Cassius, who convinces him and argues with him, but is ever loyal. On the other side of the war, John Stephens is an imposing Antony, powerfully delivering perhaps the most well-known monologue of the play, that beings "friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." Other highlights in the across the board great 15-person cast are Madeline Wall in a pants role as Caska, another conspirator in the assassination; Jasmine Harrick in a too brief role as Brutus' wife Portia; Tinne Rosenmeir as Caesar's wife who begs him not to leave the house (advice he doesn't take, walking into almost certain death just like Jamie Fraser); and August Chaffin bringing some much-needed humor to the role of Brutus' servant.
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| photo by Dan Norman |
It's rare to see a theater company come right out of the gate with a clear vision and point of view as MST has done, with an obvious understanding of Shakespeare. It's great timing for their debut, when the Guthrie recently announced their first season without a Shakespeare play in... maybe ever. As evidenced by this story of power, greed, loyalty, regret, and violence begetting violence, Shakespeare still has things to say to today's audience. And I'm excited that we have a new company dedicated to doing just that. It remains to be seen how often they'll be producing plays (I'm hoping for more than just one a year), but in the meantime I may need to finally check out a SYT play -
they're doing Henry IV Part 1 this summer at the Crane.
