Arts

Arts Previews: Julius Caesar

This weekend, Theater 520 will catapult the audience back to a time of Roman political conflict and violence in their production of “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare. Directed by Kevin Heelan, Instructor in Theater, Julius Caesar challenges the role of femininity through the primarily female cast despite the numerous roles tradationally played by men. The play also takes a modern interpretation of the script, incorporating a pin-stripe suit for Caesar and beautiful gowns for the women in place of Grecian dresses. “Mr. Heelan came up with the idea [to have the cast be glamorous] last year and I think it works really well…We played with different ideas and finally arrived with one the one where we would be kind of 40s glamorous women and then we started to go towards film noir. We never really thought of it in a time period at all and actually it’s a relevant play right now and to set it in a non-time period made it more relevant today,” said Judith Wombwell, Instructor in Dance and Co-Director with Heelan. With the exception of Andrew Schlager ’12 as Caesar and Sam Oriach ’11 narrating, the cast features Eliana Kwartler’12 as Brutus, Jackie Lender ’11 as Cassius, Jeannine Anderson ‘11 as Antony and twelve other actresses. “Not only are the traditionally male-performed roles performed by women, but the roles themselves are altered for women. Our performance of ‘Julius Caesar’ constantly analyzes the role of femininity, and depicts its transformation throughout the play,” said Nora Princiotti ’12, who is cast as Cinna the Poet. The play begins with Oriach limping into view, illuminating the theater with a single lantern. The female senate glides onto stage immediately emphasizing their femininity through their beautiful purple and silver gowns. As the Roman women come to fawn over Caesar, embracing him with flowers, narrator Oriach interrupts the bliss with the words “beware the ides of March.” As Caesar denies that there is a problem and brushes off the narrator’s warning, he immediately entices the audience, drawing them in to search for the meaning behind this cryptic warning. As the play continues, Roman citizen’s allegiance to Caesar is emphasized while Brutus’s growing frustration with Caesar is highlighted. In the midst of a theatrical storm the conspirators assemble to develop a plot to kill Caesar. In a particularly poignant scene, Schlager’s heartwarming attempts to comfort his wife, Calpurnia, played by Cat Cleveland ’11, expresses a true sense of humor and ability to amaze the audience with his incredible performance. Kwartler’s portrayal of Brutus also proves to be one of the best of the evening. The power of her voice and deep understanding of her role bring a heightened sense of intensity to her scenes and encourage the surrounding actors to emulate her convincing portrayal of Brutus. “Eliana Kwartler as Brutus brings such fire to the stage,” said Oriach. In the climactic scene depicting Caesar’s murder, the combination of music, choreography and visual effects proves to create the most complex scene of the play. “There were certain scenes that stuck out, and resonated, with me in terms of importance. I would compose a theme or motif for that scene and then I would build around that and connect everything. You not only visually appreciate what’s going on in that it’s dark and it’s scary, but the sounds will stimulate more senses and you get more into it and it grabs you more,” said Charlie Danner ’11, sound designer and operator. As Caesar attempts to escape his murderers, the curtain draws back, revealing Caesar’s first attacker. The combination of the chaotic attack-choreography, dub-step music and strobe light produces the greatest moment of passion and intrigue. “Particularly in the murder scene you can physically feel the vibrations of the sound, it really brings you into the play. It makes it seem more believable,” said Danner. Following the swarm of attacks, Caesar crawls to the foot of the stage and delivers his famous last words, “Et tu, Brute, then fall Caesar.” His frail voice and the intensity in Brutus’s eyes grips the audience. The music falls silent and the stage becomes drenched in red light as Brutus kills Caesar with one final stab in the gut. The play reaches a turning point, allowing the shift in character for the female roles. Though the women began the play emphasizing femininity, the death of Caesar allows for a release of a more masculine side of the women’s emotions, depicted in the final battle scene. A final costume change emphasizes the dramatic gender role reversals. In the final battle scene, the women leave their gowns behind and sport battle gear, fighting for power in the empire. “It’s visually stunning. It’s dark in a really beautiful way,” said Nikita Lamba ’11.