Julius Caesar
Performed in repertory with The Importance of Being Earnest
September 10 – October 16, 2004
By William Shakespeare • Directed by Risa Brainin

Press Release

Great Lakes Theater Festival Launches Fall Repertory

August 11, 2004
A single, resident company of actors performs both The Importance of Being Earnest and Julius Caesar on the same stage for six weeks in rotating repertory.

CLEVELAND, OH – Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) commences the second half of its 2004 season with a Fall Repertory that features Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (Earnest) and William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Caesar) . The productions will be performed in rotating repertory at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center, September 10 – October 16, 2004. The Fall Repertory event features a single company of twenty-one actors performing two plays alternating on the same stage over six weeks. GLTF’s Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee, will direct The Importance of Being Earnest and Risa Brainin will direct Julius Caesar.

Great Lakes Theater Festival’s 43 rd season is sponsored by National City Bank and Armada Funds.Media sponsors for the Festival’s 2004 season are Cleveland.com, The Cleveland Free Times, Northern Ohio LiveMagazine, WCPN 90.3 ideastream and WKYC Channel 3.The Importance of Being Earnest is presented with additional generous support from the The Reinberger Foundation. The production sponsor for Julius Caesar isMoen Incorporated. The Festival’s 2004 season is dedicated to its founding Artistic Director, Arthur Lithgow.

“This season’s Fall Repertory is an immense event for us,” said GLTF’s Producing Artistic Director, Charles Fee. “Caesar and Earnest are very big plays. The twenty-one-member acting company makes this rep one of the largest non-musical endeavors that we have ever undertaken. It is very exciting for us, first, because we are examining an entire culture with these two g reat plays and, second, because of the sheer challenge of producing something on this scale. This is the kind of work that is important to us as a company – work that we want to produce consistently and share with our audience in Cleveland.”

“Performing two plays in rotating repertory is an absolute blast,” continued Fee. “ The opportunity to see a single acting company perform two plays on the same stage makes the Great Lakes Theater Festival experience a unique one in Northern Ohio.” Risa Brainin, the director of Julius Caesar echoed Mr. Fee’s sentiments. “The best thing about working in a rotating repertory format is the increased opportunity that you have as an artist to reflect, to deepen your work, to digest it more fully and to let the story incubate within you,” said Brainin. “The rotating repertory format allows us as artists the time necessary for the work to grow. As a result, you see big dividends in the quality of the productions.”

The Fall Repertory opens with Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. In Earnest, audiences discover to what ends two dapper gentlemen will go to woo the women they love. A masterpiece of modern comedy, the play has delighted and entertained audiences for over a century. At its heart, the play reveals that “the pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.” “ There is no question. The Importance of Being Earnest is the wittiest play ever written in the English language,” remarked Earnest’s director Charles Fee recently, regarding the reasons for the play’s success. “ Oscar Wilde is an absolute master of wit and comedy. There is almost no line in the play that is not funny. With Earnest, Wilde single-handedly incited a comic revolution – a legacy – that has lived on for generations. You can see its resonance in the work of Monty Python, Joe Orton, all of the wild British comedies…even in the Beatles, in fact. In essence, all of this comic work was set free by the writing of Oscar Wilde. And this play is his masterpiece.” (Consult the enclosed materials for a complete summary of the play.)

William Shakespeare’s towering tragedy, Julius Caesar completes GLTF’s Fall Repertory. A tale of empire building and warfare, Shakespeare weaves manipulation and superstition into a story about men who conspire for the sake of freedom. A timeless drama of intrigue and allegiance, Julius Caesar is the ultimate political thriller. “It is actually quite a thrill to be able to produce this play in an election year,” said Fee of Caesar. Risa Brainin, director of Caesar, agreed. “Julius Caesar is frighteningly timely right now with all that is currently happening in our world and with the questions that we are asking ourselves as a nation,” said Brainin. “They are profound questions about leadership, about democracy and about morality. How do we determine our ideals as a nation and who has the right to enforce those ideals? This timeliness is only part of what fascinates me about the play. In Caesar, a sense of blind idealism is central to the story. This idea feels extremely resonant to me living in the United States at this time in history. As in Caesar, we as a nation are doing things in the name of the ideals of the republic. The ideals are good and right. But what happens when we are confronted with putting those ideals into reality?” (Consult the enclosed materials for a complete summary of the play.)

“This production [Julius Caesar] is very contemporary,” continued Brainin. “You’ll see laptops and video cameras and cell phones. This is our world. Part of what is so interesting about our world is the influence of the media on our lives and how that affects us and the decisions that we make. I was very interested to explore how that idea resonated within Julius Caesar. With modern technology, we can receive information from and send information to anyone at any time. In interpreting that information, we are pretty fickle. Similarly, the crowd in Julius Caesar is pretty fickle. This was an interesting connection for me. My approach to Shakespeare is to make the work as accessible, exciting, immediate and contemporary in its resonance as is possible. I like to look for those sorts of visceral connections when at work on one of his plays rather than to think about a Shakespeare that is long ago and far away. We always begin our design process by asking ourselves as a production team, ‘why this play, for this audience, at this time?’”

GLTF’s Fall Repertory features a single company of twenty-one actors performing roles in both plays. “Top to bottom, this is an absolutely outstanding classical company of actors,” said Charles Fee of his repertory ensemble. “To the person, this cast is experienced, skilled and very, very talented. To have them all together on one stage is a real privilege.”

The artistic team for Great Lakes Theater Festival’s Fall Repertory is comprised of Michael Klaers, Tom Mardikes, Rick Martin, Ken Merckx, Russell Metheny , Kim Krumm Sorenson, Peter John Still and Gage Williams. Gage Williams will design scenery for the Festival’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest while Russell Metheny will handle scenic design responsibilities for Julius Caesar. Costume designer Kim Krumm Sorenson, who designed the costumes for GLTF’s productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Tartuffe and The Taming of the Shrew will design the costumes for both productions in the Fall Repertory . Lighting Designer Rick Martin will supply the design for Earnest and Michael Klaers will light Caesar. Sound design duties for the Fall Repertory will be split between Peter John Still (The Importance of Being Earnest) and Tom Mardikes (Julius Caesar). Rounding out the production team is Ken Merckx who will serve as Fight Director for Julius Caesar.

Charles Fee will direct The Importance of Being Earnest to open the Festival’s Fall Repertory. Fee, GLTF’s Producing Artistic Director, joined Great Lakes Theater Festival in July 2002. During his first three seasons with the Festival, he directed acclaimed productions of Arms and the Man, A MidsummerNight’s Dream (nominated for a Northern Ohio Live Award of Achievement), Hamlet and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). He has strengthened the Festival’s partnership with Playhouse Square Center Foundation, setting in motion plans for this season’s return to Summer Repertory. Mr. Fee is also the Producing Artistic Director for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, a position he has held since December 1991. For the five years prior to joining the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Charlie held the position of Artistic Director at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in northern California. He has worked with such companies as The Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, the Milwaukee and Missouri Repertory Theaters, Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego.

Risa Brainin will direct GLTF’s Fall Repertory production of Julius Caesar. She recently completed a two-year residency as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz (2001-03) where she directed The Sea Gull ,Hamlet and The Emperor’s New Clothes. Prior to SSC, she held the position of Associate Artistic Director for Missouri Repertory Theatre in Kansas City (2000-2002), and Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis (1997-2000) From 1987-1997, she resided in Minneapolis and had a long association with the Guthrie Theater, serving as Resident Director, Associate Company Director and Acting Instructor in the company’s outreach program. Risa’s directorial credits include: The Merchant of Venice , Tone Clusters, Naomi in the Living Room, Zoo Story, A Christmas Carol, and Mystery of the Rose Bouquet at the Guthrie Theater; To Kill a Mockingbird , The Herbal Bed, Macbeth, One Thousand Cranes, Talley’s Folly, Blithe Spirit, Noises Off and Pygmalion at Indiana Repertory Theatre; Machinal, Morning Star and Indian Ink at Missouri Repertory Theatre; The Comedy of Errors at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Uncle Vanya and The Government Inspector at American Players Theatre, Honk at PCPA TheatreFest; and Lots of Love Gertrude , Ever Thine Thornton and Greater Tuna at the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville. This past spring she directed As You Like It for the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis. Risa served on grant panels for the Theatre Communications Group and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University’s Drama Program.

“We have really reinvented this institution [GLTF] from the ground up,” said Fee of the Festival. “Of all the changes that we have made this season, I think the thing that is most exciting to me is to have been able to renew our commitment as an organization to the idea of company. On an artistic level, on an administrative level and in our work throughout this vibrant community, the idea of company has and will continue to yield great results for the Festival.”

Fee confirmed that Opening Night performances of The Importance of Being Earnest and Julius Caesar have been scheduled for Saturday evenings with preview performances of both productions scheduled for Friday nights. Performance calendars for the 2004 season have been expanded to include Wednesday evening performances. Curtain times for all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday matinees. Both productions in GLTF’s Fall Repertory will continue to offer sign interpreted and audio described performances as well as the popular Director’s Night and Playnotes pre-show discussion series.

Single tickets for the Fall Repertory productions range in price from $20-$45 and are available by calling (216) 241-6000, by ordering online, by visiting the Playhouse Square Center Box office or any Tickets.com outlet located within all Tops Friendly Markets. Groups of ten or more receive discounts as do educators and students.

Since 1962, Great Lakes Theater Festival has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience in Northern Ohio.

The Importance of Being Earnest

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Julius Caesar

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Since 1962, Great Lakes Theater Festival has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience in Northern Ohio.


Reviews

The Plain Dealer
Monday, September 27, 2004
Caesar’ unexpectedly, brilliantly made clear
By Carolyn Jack, Plain Dealer Arts Reporter

Directors are always setting Shakespeare’s plays in new places and time periods. They do this in hopes of making them more meaningful and entertaining to present-day audiences who glaze over when they hear iambic pentameter.

So, over the years and around the globe, we’ve had Shakespeare set in lunatic asylums, amid the black- leather jackets of 1950s greasers, during the Napoleonic and World wars, in jungles and Belle-Epoque parlors. But these “re-imaginings” almost never rise above gimmickry they amount to costume capers that do little to illuminate Shakespeare’s themes and text in any new or significant way.

That’s why Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of “Julius Caesar” delivers such a shock.

By setting the tragedy in today’s media-driven society of personal computers and press coverage, celebrities and cellphones, director Risa Brainin has taken the dark, dusty canvas of this tragedy into the daylight and revealed it as a vivid digital image of us.

And that isn’t all she does. With her cast, Brainin tells the complex story of Caesar’s assassination and the fallout from it in words made unexpectedly clear and logical by the sensible, humorous, recognizably human readings the actors give them.

These are no marble statues declaiming their lofty emotions and morals from pedestals 50 feet above our heads. These are people from the nightly news and from our neighborhoods, people we recognize and understand.

For Brainin to transform this often stiff, earnest, boring play into a vital even, at times funny story is something close to genius. It’s not overstating the case to say that Great Lakes has created a Shakespeare production outstanding on a national scale.

The show, which opened Saturday, immediately discloses its present-day slant with Russell Metheny’s stunning modernistic set, a collection of towering units constructed of red or silver metal frameworks and translucent plastic, like sections of a curving Bauhaus fa?e. These and the streamlined, candlestick-style wooden columns surrounding can be swiveled to effectively suggest different locations.

Onto this set runs a pack of press people hung with cameras and jockeying for position. Caesar (Aled Davies) swoops in with a glitzy cape, trophy wife and entourage as if he were Donald Trump dressed as Liberace, an icon of both shallow ego and real, crowd-swaying power. His rumpled, laptop-toting staff mix with security men and Rome’s other politicians wearing dark shades, sleek suits and cell phones.

But it isn’t just Kim Krumm Sorenson’s interesting costumes that give the characters their immediate familiarity it’s the weary, sardonic, wisecracking way in which the operatives talk to each other; the faintly menacing, tense tone of command in the leaders’ discussions, the rising anger and hurt in a marital quarrel. Though it’s all expressed in Shakespearean language, Brainin and the actors make sure the lines speak our language.

As Casca, one of the plotters against Caesar, Tom Ford does a rare, perhaps unique thing: he turns this stock Elizabethan supporting character into the person most resonant for our own time.

An exhausted, anonymous sort of middle-management type who looks as if he has been multitasking all day, Ford’s Casca shifts between a nervous, sarky acidity and a goofy near-hysteria that are both clearly the last-ditch defenses of a used-up spirit and can devolve in a nanosecond into suicidal despair.

That this deadened man can still be emotionally wrecked by the murder in which he partici pates is one of this “Julius Caesar’s” most sobering lessons for a cynical, sensation-numbed society.

Still, this is Brutus’ and Cassius’ tale, and the two leading assassins receive masterful portrayals from Richard Klautsch and Douglas Frederick. Polar opposites, they are well known to us, with Klautsch’s Brutus, looking like Britain’s Tony Blair, leading with his noble heart, but not thinking shrewdly, and Freder ick’s thin, sharp, rather too- young Cassius playing an expert but cold game of political chess.

Only David Anthony Smith’s Marcus Antonius or Mark Antony doesn’t seem thoroughly real. Brainin has Smith start out looking like a Kato Kaelin sort of hanger-on in Hollywood leisure- wear, an appendage at Caesar’s side.

Yet, when Caesar dies, this apparently useless, vapid vulgarian turns first into a man of sensitivity and substance, then into a crazed fascist during the ensuing war, and finally, at tragedy’s end, back into a deeply feeling human.

Shakespeare wouldn’t put it this way, but what’s up with that?

The fact is, though, that Smith’s characterization is the one flaw of any importance in this amazing production. This is a “Julius Caesar,” not just for the history books, but for the worldwide web of American life.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: cjack@plaind.com, 216-999-4739.
The Cleveland Jewish News
Friday, October 1, 2004
Powerful production proves timelessness of ’Julius Caesar’
By: Fran Heller, Contributing Writer

Watching the engrossing production of “Julius Caesar” at Great Lakes Theater Festival was like opening a time capsule and suddenly discovering that the past looks a lot like the present.

Shakespeare, who wrote his political thriller more than 400 years ago, stole the plot from historical events that took place over 2000 years ago.

GLTF director Risa Brainin sets Shakespeare’s play in the here and now. Her bold vision proves the timeliness and timelessness of Shakespeare’s prophetic tragedy and cautionary tale about the abuses of power.

This powerhouse of a production, in which a superlative ensemble of 21 actors seamlessly performs 60 parts, establishes GLTF as a true repertory company in the very best sense of the word. And “Julius Caesar” is clearly the best production of their season.

One of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, it reverberates on both a political and personal level, from the danger of unchecked ambition and the manipulation of information for personal gain, to human arrogance and the betrayal of friendship. This remarkable production succeeds on both scores.

The enchantment begins with Russell Metheny’s abstract set, in which two halves of a giant cylinder, each supported by Roman pillars, mimic an ancient capitol rent in two, an apt metaphor for a divided country.

Enter Caesar, followed by the paparazzi with their video cameras, cellphones and laptops. Flush with victory from battle, Caesar secretly yearns to be crowned emperor. A suitably pompous Aled Davies is the vain Caesar, whose bombastic nature hides his weaknesses. Seduced by flattery and defying the gods, the soothsayer, and his wife’s baleful omens; Caesar is lured to the capitol, where he meets his violent fate.

Like a variation on “The Last Supper,” Caesar, cloaked in white and surrounded by his followers standing in a semi-circle moments before he is murdered, is a lingering one. The scene, bathed in Michael Klaers’ crimson lighting, heightens the bloody deed.

Caesar’s crony is Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony), portrayed by David Anthony Smith as a sycophantic lightweight who later proves his mettle as a persuasive orator and skilled avenger of Caesar’s death. Smith’s delivery of Antonius’ famed funeral oration, in which he sways the fickle crowd by demonstrating how much Caesar loved his fellow Romans, is a highlight.

Both fearful and envious of Caesar’s power, is the “lean and hungry” and equally ambitious Cassius, the primary mover and shaker in the conspiracy.

To lend weight to the nefarious plot, Cassius (the excellent Douglas Frederick) enlists the help of other Senators, including Brutus, beloved by Caesar and revered by his countrymen. The brutal murder leads to civil strife which can only be resolved when Caesar’s wrongful murder is avenged.

Dressed like undercover agents in Kim Krumm Sorenson’s black trenchcoats, fedoras and dark glasses, the conspirators make their plans in whispers and on cell-phones.

Richard Klautsch triumphs as the conflicted Brutus, a flawed hero torn between his misguided ideals about liberty and freedom and committing murder. While the play is about the tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus is the more interesting character and the one who arouses the most sympathy.

Klautsch captures the dilemma of a man who lives too much in his head instead of his heart. Believing the cause of Caesar’s death to be noble and just, the self-deluded Brutus sanctions an immoral act in the name of freedom.

Director Brainin’s staging works miracles, turning several actors, well situated throughout the theater, into the roaring multitude. Under the prevailing superstitions in Shakespeare’s day, turmoil in the heavens was symbolic of the turmoil in the state and in the minds of men. Tom Mardikes’ thunderous-storm sounds and Michael Klaers’ dramatic shifts in lighting embellish the spectacle of the gods’ displeasure.

The play moves along swiftly, and the parallels with present-day events are many. For example, Brutus and Cassius have made plans to kill Caesar, but have no plans for what will happen after Caesar is dead or who will rule Rome. The conspirators are lethally shortsighted, and their lack of a game plan following the assassination creates a power vacuum that invites chaos and civil war.

Brutus also shows poor political judgment in allowing Antonius to speak at Caesar’s funeral. Brutus, a lackluster public speaker who appeals to the intellect rather than the emotions of the populace, is trumped by Antonius, a powerful orator and shrewd politician who knows how to work the crowd.

Noteworthy cameo roles include a terrified Wayne S. Turney as the hapless poet, Cicero, caught in the crossfire; a forlorn Laura Perrotta as Brutus’ concerned wife, Portia; and Tom Ford as the conspirator, Casca, whose saucy wit holds Caesar and the people up to ridicule. In truth, there isn’t one weak link in the entire show.

This play is a must-see, not only in an election year, but as a great work of theater.

Scene Magazine
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Preemptive Assassination
A bloody regime change ignites agony in GLTF’s Julius Caesar.
By Christine Howey

You say you love President Bush and loathe John Kerry? Or perhaps you despise W and have a “Four More Wars” bumper sticker on your Volvo. Either way, you’re sure to find plenty to applaud in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. In fact, there are few plays so chock-full of great lines and open interpretations as this classic, making it the perfect political blank slate on which to inscribe anyone’s beliefs. Is Caesar (fill in Bush, if you like) the people’s hero or a vile dictator in the making? Does his buddy, Mark Antony, incite the crowd to violence with incisive reasoning or with clever spin? And is there a Brutus, figurative knife in hand, lurking in the wings these days?

It is this chameleonlike quality of Will’s great tragedy that has led to so many repeat performances – often done in modern dress, as is this production by the Great Lakes Theater Festival. The hip, contemporary look on stage – business suits, dark sunglasses, and a volley of laptops carried by the ever-malleable embedded press corps – imbues this reliable political thriller with immediacy, particularly on the brink of our hotly contested upcoming presidential election. Add an almost unstoppable flow of blood, some cool jazz licks, and a couple of chicks in tight dresses, and one might wonder whether this is really good ol’ Julius or maybe CSI: Rome.

But fear not, the full story is here in all its gory glory. While Caesar is busy refusing the crown before the cheering throngs (wink, wink), Cassius is busily undermining the old man and fueling his buddy Brutus’s doubts about him. Cue the thunderstorm, as the Ides of March approaches and Caesar gets repeated warnings about his impending demise from his wife, a soothsayer, and a few other passersby. Proving some leaders just never listen, he shows up at the Senate, where he’s fricasseed by his closest friends, after which the eulogy by his friend Mark Antony inflames the citizens against the killers.

Shakespeare’s glorious, indelible language is performed by a troupe that hits all the high notes, but misses some of the subtler undertones that could have made this production truly memorable. On the plus side, Richard Klautsch is fascinating as the conflicted Brutus, a favored citizen who is maneuvered into an assassination for which he will pay dearly. Fierce in his patriotic fervor, but gentle when alone with his wife, Klautsch works on multiple levels to create an involving portrait. As Mark Antony, David Anthony Smith segues from a laid-back, pastry-popping pal of Caesar’s to a warrior bent on the destruction of Brutus and his cabal. Along the way, Smith delivers the play’s most memorized, irony-laden speech (“Friends, Romans…”) with such plainspoken, unaffected honesty that it’s easy to see why the crowds flock to his side.

In the small but juicy role of Casca, a conspirator who stabs Caesar, Tom Ford owns the stage whenever he’s on it. Whether he’s tossing a dismissive, offhand wave to the ruler or wiping spittle off his chin, Ford adds humor to this most intense story without ever detracting from the momentum of the piece. In addition, Aled Davies is a waffling but not particularly compelling Caesar, and Kelly Sullivan is strong and persuasive as his wife, Calpurnia. Even though Douglas Frederick appears sufficiently lean and hungry as the ultimate plotter, Cassius, his intense tirades are too monochromatic and predictable. As a result, his scenes with Brutus lack shape and seem to conclude on a note of exhaustion.

Director Risa Brainin delivers a sinewy, thoughtful interpretation, focusing more on the interpersonal actions of the characters than on the sweep of events. This renders some of the action in the second act a bit more confusing, since it’s easy to lose track of whose army is doing what to whom. Brainin also adds some nice contemporary touches – when Brutus asks his manservant to play him a relaxing tune, the young man helps his master plug into an iPod. But some other flourishes are oddly out of place, such as Caesar wearing a sparkly flowing robe over his suit, when there are no other wardrobe touches from ancient Rome.

The techno set design by Russell Metheny uses two tall steel frameworks that rotate – along with a few perfunctory gold columns – to define playing areas. Tom Mardikes’s sound design is particularly effective, with screeching trumpet solos punctuating the endgame fates of ambitious men whose ethics will always be up for debate.

What’s not debatable, though, is the enduring power of Julius Caesar, togas or no togas, along with the genius of Shakespeare’s flinty wit. As Cassius notes after shortening the king’s existence, “He that cuts off so many years of life, cuts off so many years of fearing death.” With friends like that, who needs Republicans?

Photos

Aled Davies (left) as Julius Caesar and Mark Alan Gordon (right) as Decius Brutus share the stage in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni		David Anthony Smith (left) as Marcus Antonius and Christopher Scheeren (right) as Octavius Caesar in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s Fall Repertory production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Richard Klautsch (left) as Marcus Brutus and Douglas Frederick (right) as Cassius face off in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni		Nan Wray (left) as the Soothsayer and Laura Perrotta (right) as Portia in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s Fall Repertory production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Scott Plate as Metellus Cimber (left) and Richard Klautsch (right) as Marcus Brutus weep over the dead body of Douglas Frederick (right) as Cassius in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Aled Davies (left) as Julius Caesar and Kelly Sullivan (center) as Calphurnia share an embrace as Douglas Frederick (right) as Cassius looks on in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni		David Anthony Smith (middle) as Marcus Antonius, Aled Davies (bottom) as Julius Caesar and Richard Klautsch (top) as Marcus Brutus share the stage in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni
Richard Klautsch (left) as Marcus Brutus and David Anthony Smith (right) as Marcus Antonius and Aled Davies (center) as Julius Caesar share the stage in Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of Julius Caesar. The show runs in rotating repertory with Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest through October 16 at the Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square Center. Photo by Roger Mastroianni