THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS
AIRDATE: July 11, 2003
Hail, Caesar! The ancient Roman Consul
is making a comeback -- onscreen and onstage. First, there was the TNT special,
and now Shakespeare's tragic history is back at the Globe. The made-for-TV
movie was set in ancient times, but with its smirky, bellicose Caesar,
attacking countries unprovoked, it was exceedingly relevant to present leaders,
current times. At the Globe, acclaimed guest director Daniel Sullivan has
chosen to set his production "towards the end of the 21st
century." This is a Rome rife with
pre- and post-apocalyptic political intrigue -- conspiracy, back-biting,
back-stabbing, devastation, confrontation. It is a city trapped in the timeless
conflict between democracy and demagoguery, something we can all relate to, and
frighteningly, at the end, after the murder, it's clear that the new regime
will be even worse than the last. The society reeks of distrust, ultra-high
security and liberty eroded by self-interest. It's some time after the fall of
the American Empire, natural resources are depleted, economic devastation is
everywhere; corruption and mass anxiety rule. A great city in ruins, grippingly
conveyed by Ralph Funicello's modern-ancient set of burned-out buildings and
fallen pillars.
In the opening moments, a huge,
Stalinesque banner of Caesar's stern face is vandalized by an angry,
leather-clad thug, who scrawls a blood-red "Tyrant" across the image.
The play, of course, is less about Caesar than Brutus and Cassius, the
co-conspirators -- how they bring down their leader and how they are brought
down. There is no hero here, no villain. Each character is a multifaceted
human, with all the fears, foibles and frailties that entails. That is the
genius of Shakespeare, and the enduring legacy of the play, as history lesson
and lesson in life. Sullivan shows us a brutal and terrible time not too unlike
our own.
All the principals lead double lives,
with outward bravado, but private struggle with their choices and inner demons.
Robert Foxworth's Brutus is a ruminator, an idealist if not quite a dreamer,
and not quite as sympathetic as one
might hope. But he's a fine foil and friend to Joel Polis as a
wonderfully impulsive, explosive Cassius. Their scenes together are both
forceful and intimate. The wives of Caesar and Brutus are vigorously played by
Kandis Chappell and Caitlin O'Connell, and Dakin Matthews brings delightful
humor to the role of conspirator Casca. Michael James Reed, last seen at the
Globe as an irresistible Pericles, plays Mark Antony as a party-boy dim-wit,
until he gets to his funeral oration, when his anger builds and he rises to
rabble-rousing excellence.
The fickleness of the public is
shockingly familiar; the fragility of a republic is just plain shocking. With
its magnificent battle-scenes, gorgeously lit, backed by ear-splitting sound,
and its bone-chilling political messages, this production is often brilliant--
robust, dynamic, terrifying.
©2003
Patté Productions Inc.