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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Julius Caesar Also see Susan's review of As You Like It
Tony Cisek's scenic design places the action in what appears to be a mausoleum or monument, a grim setting of stone and concrete, and actors not in a scene may pull on ragged hooded cloaks and, as specters, silently observe the action from upstage. Much of the dialogue is subdued but not peaceful; emotions constantly simmer and break out in verbal and physical violence. Michael Sharon is a stalwart Caesar and Maurice Jones an impassioned Mark Antony, but the most interesting interaction is between Cassius (sly Louis Butelli) and Brutus (forthright Anthony Cochrane). Brutus thinks he knows his own mind, but Cassius understands that he needs only push the right buttons and Brutus will fall into line. Of course, as Shakespeare shows, the appeal to emotion isn't restricted to any one faction. Once Antony stirs up the people of Rome, anyone—including victims of mistaken identity—may become a victim. Richmond sets the first act in an unspecified time period where, as costumed by Mariah Hale, the soldiers wear tunics and pants rather than togas. The second act takes on the look of World War I (marking its centenary this year) as the soldiers shift into uniforms and helmets evocative of the period, and wear gas masks, although they still carry daggers rather than guns. (The universality of war can be addressed without being clumsily obvious.) Richmond and fight director Casey Dean Kaleba have staged slow-motion tableaux of battle, intensified by Jim Hunter's red-tinged lighting design and Eric Shimelonis' immersive musical score and sound design. Folger Theatre
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