Shakespeare Theatre Company Associate Artistic Director David Muse makes his mainstage STC debut directing Dan Kremer in the title role. Julius Caesar runs from April 27, 2008 to July 6, 2008. Company member Andrew Long will play Mark Antony in both Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. Artistic Director Michael Kahn directs Antony and Cleopatra, one of Shakespeare’s last great tragedies, from April 26, 2008 to July 6, 2008. Featuring some of the most sublime poetry of love and loss ever written, Antony and Cleopatra is a dark, intimate portrait of an ill-fated love affair.With civil unrest roiling Rome, the aging Mark Antony struggles between his sense of duty and his consuming love for Cleopatra. Antony and Cleopatra features Royal Shakespeare Company veteran Suzanne Bertish as Cleopatra.
The Roman Repertory is supported by an Artistic Excellence Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Julius Caesar is sponsored in memory of Eric Weinmann. Antony and Cleopatra is sponsored in celebration of Jackie Feldman’s love of Shakespeare and her dedication to the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Media partner WAMU provides promotional support throughout the run.
“While the Marlowe plays were a tool for audiences to meet a great playwright, we chose the Roman Repertory productions based on their thematic similarities,“ said Michael Kahn. “David Muse and I thought it would be interesting to put the two together and see which characters function similarly in both plays in relation to the power structure or their profession. The melding of the two stories should provide a very interesting narrative, and I think we’ll find these stories to be especially timely in a politically charged year.”
JULIUS CAESAR
As Julius Caesar returns victorious from battle, a soothsayer warns him to “beware the ides of March.” Envious of Caesar’s popularity and fearful of his ambition, a group of senators conspire to assassinate him. Brutus struggles with whether to join the conspiracy but is ultimately convinced through Cassius’ urgings that action must be taken for the good of the Republic. At Caesar’s funeral, Mark Antony extols Caesar’s virtues and encourages the citizens of Rome to revenge his murder. Meanwhile, Brutus and Cassius gather forces and prepare to battle Antony and Caesar’s heir Octavius in Philippi. Caesar’s ghost visits Brutus and warns him of his impending defeat. When his army falls, Brutus kills himself, proclaiming that Caesar can finally rest in peace.
“Julius Caesar is a play about an overreaching executive, politicians who move people through their rhetoric, and a grand plan gone terribly wrong,” said David Muse. “The political struggles in Julius Caesar are ever-timely, and it will be a thrill to perform this play to audiences who are especially adept at connecting what’s going on onstage with current affairs.”
JULIUS CAESAR CAST
Dan Kremer makes his STC debut as Julius Caesar. Kremer has performed regularly at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Pravda, Oleanna, The White Devil, La Bete, Major Barbara, The Tempest, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and premieres of The Majestic Kid and Emma’s Child) and Utah Shakespeare Festival (The Matchmaker, King Lear). Additional credits include performances with the American Conservatory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Dallas Theater Center, Geva Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Playwrights Horizon, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Repertory and Yale Repertory, among others.
Andrew Long will play Mark Antony. Additional cast members for Julius Caesar include Ethan Bowen, J. Garrett Brennan, Aubrey K. Deeker, Tom Hammond, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, Robert Jason Jackson, Jan Knightley, Kryztov Lindquist, Kim Martin-Cotten, Dean Nolen, Glen Pannell, Scott Parkinson, Kurt Rhoads, Nancy Rodriguez, Michael Sharon, Peter Stray, Ted van Griethuysen and Craig Wallace.
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
Infatuated with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, Mark Antony has neglected his duties in Rome. When word arrives that his wife has died, Antony returns to Rome and joins with Octavius and Lepidus to stave off Pompey’s imminent military attack. Antony agrees to wed Octavius’ sister to strengthen their alliance, but soon leaves his new bride for Egypt and Cleopatra. Furious, Octavius challenges Antony to a battle at sea. Cleopatra’s navy joins Antony, but when her ships retreat, he follows. A disgusted Antony scolds Cleopatra when her forces recoil a second time in battle. Cleopatra feigns suicide in hopes of garnering his sympathy, but hearing the news, Antony stabs himself. The lovers are briefly reunited as Antony dies, and it isn’t long before Cleopatra joins him in death following a fatal snakebite.
“Antony and Cleopatra is a difficult play to produce because of its complexity,” said Michael Kahn. “Dramatically it is exciting because there is contention in every scene. It also presents questions of power, of leadership, of generational differences and of the clash of two cultures. The thing that I find endlessly fascinating is the author’s relish in ambiguity. You can take Antony and Cleopatra as a celebration of the organization in Rome to finally clean up the world, or a celebration of personal life over the private one, and of the sensual and emotional world. At the same time, it can be a critique of passion or the ambitious and intellectual world. Shakespeare explains both and leaves it to us to decide.”
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA CAST
Andrew Long plays Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Long’s recent STC credits include roles in Major Barbara, Tamburlaine and Edward II. Additional STC credits include Lady Windermere’s Fan, Macbeth, Cyrano, Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, Hamlet at Carter Barron, The Duchess of Malfi, Don Carlos, Richard II, Coriolanus, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, The Trojan Women, King John, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Henry V, among others. Long has appeared at such regional theatres as the Guthrie Theater, Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Arena Stage, Pioneer Theater, Round House Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
Suzanne Bertish makes her STC debut as Cleopatra. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bertish appeared in Broadway’s Nicholas Nickelby, Salome and The Moliere Comedies, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. Bertish received an Olivier Award for her performance in Nicholas Nickleby at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Aldwych Theatre. Her Off-Broadway’s credits include performances at the Manhattan Theatre Club (Theatre World Award for Skirmishes), Public Theater and ETC. She has appeared in such films as 13th Warrior, Dirty Money, Hanover Street and Hearts of Fire, and she was recently featured in HBO’s series Rome. Bertish’s television credits include The Grid, the BBC miniseries Nicholas Nickleby, The Three Sisters and the popular Inspector Morse, Absolutely Fabulous, Shine on Harvey Moon, Mr. Bean and others.
Additional casting for Antony and Cleopatra includes Ethan Bowen, Aubrey K. Deeker, Tom Hammond, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, Robert Jason Jackson, Jan Knightley, Dan Kremer, Kryztov Lindquist, Kim Martin-Cotten, John-Michael Marrs, Dean Nolen, Glen Pannell, Kurt Rhoads, Nancy Rodriguez, Michael Sharon, Peter Stray, Ted van Griethuysen and Craig Wallace.
THE DESIGNERS
For the Roman Repertory, Set Designer James Noone (Major Barbara, The Persians, Othello, Cyrano) has represented the capitol settings of the plays with several large retractable stairways connected to balcony platforms and tall doorway arches. Costume Designer Jennifer Moeller’s (Tamburlaine, Richard III) period designs include draped togas in a cool palate of creams, tans and dusty browns, with commanding red robes for Julius Caesar. Roman soldiers will wear plumed headpieces and body armor, while Cleopatra’s Egyptian coterie is dressed in luxurious fabrics and adorned with golden jewelry. The repertory design team also includes Original Composition by Martin Desjardins, Sound Design by Daniel Baker, Lighting Design by Mark McCullough, Fight Direction by Rick Sordelet, and Text Coaching by Gary Logan and Ellen O’Brien. -- www.shakespearetheatre.org
