The tragic “Julius Caesar” — which opened Friday night at the Gettysburg Community Theatre — is believed to be the first play that Will Shakespeare wrote for Lord Chamberlain’s Men to perform at the original Globe Theatre in 1599 Shoreditch London.
Based on Roman history, the political thriller has been performed for centuries onstage and subsequently in film and television. Marlon Brando was Oscar-nominated for Best Actor for his leading role as Mark Antony in the 1953 film that clinched an Academy Award for its black and white art direction.
As the play premiered onstage at the close of the 16th century, England’s elderly Queen Elizabeth refused to name her successor. Public anxiety around the pending transfer of power and the threat of civil war loomed. In this tense political climate, Shakespeare recreated the chaos brought about by the assassination of Roman statesman Julius Caesar in 44 BC with his pen.
The director and production designer of GCT’s “Julius Caesar,” Elizabeth Pellegrino is an alumni of the little theatre’s summer camp where she teaches and is pursuing a Master of Letters postgrad degree in Shakespeare and Performance.
Flanked by suggestive marble-esque columns on a black stage, her set design is minimal.
The lights rise on Jim Pellegrino as Flavius and Walter P. Wagner as Marullus. Caesar has defeated Pompey, and Flavius and Marullus scold a group of commoners gathered to celebrate his victory. Admonishing the commoners for their “fickle nature,” they break up the crowd.
Played by Elizabeth Smith and Linda Fink, respectively, Senators Cassius and Brutus fear Caesar will accept the Emperorship of Rome, thus ending their Republic. And though Brutus’s servant Caska attests that Caesar thrice refused the crown offered to him by Antony, they are wary of Caesar’s sincerity. Jealous and ambitious, Cassius manages to convince Brutus to join a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar for what he claims is the good of Rome.
AJ Rhoads commands the stage as Caesar. As the ominous Soothsayer, Joshua Naderi warns him to “Beware the Ides of March.” And Claire Moberly as Caesar’s wife, Calphurnia, begs him to heed her dark visionary dreams and lay low. Despite their warnings, Brutus flatters Caesar into going to the Capitol where he will meet his doom.
By the end of the first scene in Act III, Caesar is dead. Thus sets the stage for a chaotic, violent aftermath.
Director Pellegrino and cast and crew do not disappoint as they bring an exciting rendition of the tale from Shakespeare to the Gettysburg community.
Tech director Michael Connelly’s dramatic lighting and sound effects, especially during the storm, are carefully calibrated. Costumes by Amy Eyler, Nancy McKenzie, and F.C. Tipperary are appropriate, and the scenic design by Linda Toke and Joshua Naderi add just enough detail at appropriate moments.
Julie Pellegrino and Amy Byers assist with props and tech.
The stage combat choreography by Dan Burke and Matt Provance stands out through five acts as bodies drop right and left, but especially at the death of the innocent poet Cinna — well played by Cory Abrecht — in Act 3.
Rhoads’ majestic stage presence as Caesar never falters before and after his death; his throaty delivery of the famous “Et tu, Brute?” draws chills.
In Matt Provance’s passionate performance as Antony, his rhetorical “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears…” speech at Caesar’s funeral also rings familiar as it spurs Rome into full-scale civil war.
The leads are all well played. Smith rides a wave of energy from her entrance until Cassius’s end, and Fink as Brutus steps up to deliver an energetic pace.
The supporting actresses who play Caesar and Brutus’s wives (Moberly and Alyssa Byers) shine in multiple roles. It’s a bit discomfiting to watch them begging on their knees in parallel scenes, but Shakespeare has been described as a misogamist. And though gender crossing — men played the female roles — was the norm in his time, Shakespeare would likely be surprised at how effectively women portray men today.
Ryleigh Love is quite convincing in her dual roles as Caska and Octavius. Joshua Naderi, Jim Pellegrino and Walter P. Wagner also play multiple characters.
Other supporting cast members are Gabriel Evan Cook, Jim Derby, Joseph Massara, Nathanael Hahn, Téa Antigiovanni, Cookie Driscoll, Blaise Kelley, Walter P. Wagner, and Corey Messick.
Beautifully directed and neatly presented across the board at GCT, “Julius Caesar” remains poignant more than 400 years past its premiere. Two prevailing themes — the power of rhetoric and perils of leadership — echo in contemporary politics.
And the Ides of March (15th) when Julius Caesar was assassinated will forever be associated with misfortune and doom.
“Julius Caesar” continues through August 11 at Gettysburg Community Theatre, 49 York Street. Performances are 2 p.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. General admission is $20. For tickets and more information, visit gettysburgcommunitytheatre.org.
