"Julius Caesar" by The Acting Company at the Guthrie

The Acting Company's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar* is an intense and beautifully acted drama, even if I didn't quite understand what the war was about or why (spoiler alert) everyone decided to stab themselves at the end.  I wasn't very familiar with the play (other than the well-known quotes "et tu, Brute," "beware the ides of March," and "friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!"), and it's a little too much war and politics for my taste.  (It brought to mind the magnificently epic HBO drama Rome, about some of the same historical figures, which I also remember loving except for all of the war and political drama.)  That being said, The Acting Company once again brings an energetic,  vibrant interpretation of Shakespeare to the Guthrie as one of the stops on their tour around the country.

Last year The Acting Company performed two Shakespeare plays in repertory - the hilarious slapstick comedy The Comedy of Errors and the classic romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.  Four actors from last year's troupe return this year (including Juliet herself, Kaliswa Brewster as Caeser's wife, et al), joined by some familiar faces as well as some new ones.  It's a great ensemble, led by Bjorn DuPaty as the powerful, charismatic, and doomed title character.  But despite the title, the star of the play is Brutus, the conflicted friend of Caesar who loves Rome more than he loves Caesar, and therefore conspires to kill him to save the people of Rome from his tyranny.  William Sturdivant (a graduate of the U of M/Guthrie training program who's appeared several times on the Guthrie stage) makes this conflicted character completely believable, embracing Caesar even as he delivers the final blow, following through with what he started until the situation becomes hopeless.  Zachary Fine gives a wonderful performance as Mark Antony, who grieves for Caesar and promises to avenge his death.  He gets to play a wide range of emotions - devastated, angry, compliant, defiant, persuasive - and reels the audience in every time.  Kathleen Wise, one of only three women in the cast, also gives a fine performance in a short scene as Brutus' wife and as several other characters.

This is a modern-day production of an ancient story.  Contemporary clothing (the men in sharp suits, the women in business attire or beautiful dresses), cell phones, and a block of video screens make the drama feel current.  Walking into the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie, cable news pundits are displayed on the video screens, and the play opens with a demonstration by cheering young people with signs.  It seems like a pretty high tech show to tour with, but it's a nice element that adds to the play.

The moral of the story (if there is one) - violence begets violence.  An arguably noble act leads to more destruction and war, the very thing they were trying to avoid.  That's an idea that is, unfortunately, timeless.  Julius Caesar plays at the Guthrie through the first week of February, and then continues on tour around the country, ending up in New York City in April.



*I received two free tickets to this play as part of "Blogger Night at the Guthrie."

"Romeo and Juliet" by The Acting Company at the Guthrie

The Acting Company, a touring company out of NYC that travels around the country presenting classical works of theater, has spent the month of January at the Guthrie Theater.  I saw them a few weeks ago doing Shakespeare's slapstick comedy The Comedy of Errors.  I enjoyed the talented young cast so much that I had to go back to see the other show they were doing in repertory - Romeo and Juliet.  It was fun to see familiar faces in totally new roles, and although this play had a completely different tone, they again did a wonderful job and worked well together.

Our Romeo (Alejandro Rodriguez) and Juliet (Kaliswa Brewster) had pretty minor roles in The Comedy of Errors so I wasn't sure what to expect from them.  I was impressed by both of them.  They look the part of the young lovers and were believable falling in love, which quickly turned to despair.  Alejandro went from the carefree and blissful youth to the man in anguish at losing his love, literally writhing on the ground and sobbing.  The plum part of Juliet's nurse was played by Elizabeth Stahlman with great humor and energy.  Sid Solomon played Romeo's kinsman Mercutio with much of the same mannerisms as he had in Comedy, which I probably would have enjoyed more had I not been reminded of his previous character.  But he also played the Prince, a role in which he was almost recognizable.  Elizabeth Grullon played the boy Peter, a fun change from her vampy role in Comedy.  The delightful Comedy clowns Stephen Pilkington and John Skelley played the smaller but still entertaining roles of Romeo's pals.

Whenever I see Romeo and Juliet I get frustrated by all the near misses and how differently things could have turned out.  Like maybe this time, the Friar's message will get through to Romeo so he'll know Juliet is not really dead.  Or Juliet will wake up just a few minutes sooner, before Romeo has a chance to drink the poison.  Or better yet, the Friar will suggest that Juliet sneak out of her house and run away with Romeo instead of the preposterous plot of faking her death.  But it never happens; everything goes wrong and the love story ends in tragedy.  That's what makes it so deliciously heartbreaking.

After this week the company moves on around the country with their two plays, until they end the season in NYC in April.  Check out their tour itinerary to see if they'll be at a location near you.