Playwright: William Shakespeare. At: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier. Tickets: 1-312-595-5600; www.chicagoshakes.com; $58-$78. Runs through: March 24
The government is hopelessly gridlocked as factionalism and corruption bring the republic to its knees. An oligarchy of the rich and powerful dominates elections. The military is a stabilizing force but it's hardly independent: military leaders are oligarchs themselves. In due course, they back a strongman ruler.
This scenario has played out in Turkey, Pakistan, Greece and Egypt, among other contemporary nations, and it's precisely how Rome ended up with an emperor. Some may regard our own Federal gridlock as foreshadowing similar national self-destruction. In his Chicago debut, director Jonathan Munby delves these waters in a modern-dress Julius Caesar which is forceful, swift and elegant amidst the outward trappings of American politics and demagoguery.
It's not the hot-dog vendor, the campaign buttons or the enormous "Re-elect Julius Caesar" sign that are the tip-offs. Rather, it's Alexander Dodge's monumental scenic design, massive marble stairs leading to a columned capital building. But rather than graceful, fluted classical columns, Dodge employs the massive, squared columns of public buildings from the Fascist and Soviet eras.
Yes, Julius Caesar can be interpreted as a specific political cautionary tale, but it has more lasting power as a broadly based moral tale about a man who is pure of heartMarcus Brutusand is thrown into a roiling sea of political deception and manipulation. Mark Antony's funeral oration may be heroic, but it's also demagogic rhetoric from a man as selfishly motivated as Cassius. It's Shakespeare's final irony that Antony is the one who praises the honesty of the dead Brutus.
Written in 1599, just two years before Hamlet, Julius Caesar shows Shakespeare coming into his full powers. Many of his earlier plays are vigorous in action but woefully short on stirring language and simplicity. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare puts together clarity of plot, swift and direct action, memorable speeches and forceful characters.
Munby chooses veteran actor David Darlow as Caesar, played with Darlow's usual suave aplomb as a quintessential politician, hiding his infirmities from public view and assuredly arrogant in public, never wasting a gesture or word. British actor John Light makes his U.S. debut as Brutus, the stoic who keeps emotions in check (in contrast to Antony) and speaks with remarkable candor, yet never fails to be humane, a quality Light gracefully projects. In contrast, the Antony of Canadian actor Dion Johnstone is imposing, both in his physical presence and the force of Antony's devious personality. This excellent triumvirate is at the heart of the play.
The large, uniformly strong supporting ensemble features some of Chicago's best, among them Larry Yando (Casca), Terry Hamilton (Trebonius), Barbara Robertson (Calpurnia), McKinley Carter (Soothsayer, here a singing role) and Alex Weisman (Lucius). Lindsay Jones' original music is wonderfully diverse and effective.