Punk Rock Meets Publicans in Hamlet Isn't Dead's JULIUS CAESAR

Mia Isabella Aguirre as Brutus. Photo courtesy of Mia Isabella Photography.

Punk music pounds as the audience streams in for Hamlet Isn't Dead's (HID) 20th production: Julius Caesar.  A red banner with a Latin inscription hangs haphazardly from the rising columns surrounding the stained glass of The Center at West Park.  Three broad stone steps,  normally reserved for audience seating, now are our place of play: giving the sensation of sitting among the groundlings in a Roman amphitheater; our sense of space: a world turned upside down. 

This ain't your mother's Ides of March.

For the past several years, Hamlet Isn't Dead has been making their way, chronologically, through Shakespeare's canon, developing their own style that incorporates clown and live music to create riotous interpretations of his work.  Largely effective, especially in Shakespeare's earlier work, the question has been looming as the company nears Hamlet, Macbeth, Lear and his other serious pieces, just how their style will mesh with the Bard's own authorial development.

Julius Caesar seeks to answer that with one of their most stylized shows yet.  What works, works brilliantly.  Jordan Brooks, who composed and served as musical director, didn't just add in thematically appropriate songs here and there, he underscored the show, driven by leitmotifs and some impressive drums, that shaped the emotional intensity and tell the complex political story.  Similarly, Tyler M. Perry's lighting design effectively created a myriad of moods and settings, complimenting some of the greater set-pieces such as the rainstorm heralding the conspirators, the death of Caesar, and the concluding wars.  Greg Pragel's fight direction - even hampered with rapiers rather than more appropriate broadswords - was smart, cinematic, and spectacular.  Definitely one of the highlights of the whole production.

Certainly, this is Hamlet Isn't Dead's most technically beautiful show.  The ensemble, working as an ensemble, played well together, although it was equally apparent that several times actors were simply left to sit on the steps and deliver the text by director Emily Jackson: a move which revealed various levels of competence.  A physical abandonment that also translated into somewhat muddied relationships between sets of characters, such as Brutus and Caesar's spouses (here gender flipped), and even Brutus and Cassius themselves.  Similarly, sometimes the clown elements - executed beautifully as always - felt out of place in this more serious work, even if they've been a hallmark of HID's style up to now.

As Brutus, Mia Isabella Aguirre has a good presence and a fine grasp of the text.  However, her performance sometimes hit a single note and stayed there.  Noah Ruff, longtime member of HID's resident acting company, acquits himself well as the lean and hungry Cassius, particularly shining in the conspirator scene and the latter half of the tent scene.  Like the whole company, he's a bit young to be playing the role, and I'd be very interested in how his Cassius develops throughout his career.

Anna Stacy acquitted herself admirably as Marc Antony, proving particularly deft in her show-stopping back to back soliloquies surrounding the death of Caesar.  Kudos must be given to anyone who can manage to make "Cry havoc" as exciting a line as it ought to be.  Maureen Fenninger turned in perhaps my favorite Caesar to date, leaning into Caesar's desire for fame and reputation, while commenting on something approaching the power of Instagram fame.

Travis Klemm as Casca.  Photo courtesy of Mia Isabella Photography.

Travis Klemm, another member of the HID resident company, shines as Casca, and I daresay he was my favorite and most consistent actor on the stage.  Allowing his natural clown to shine through, he managed to play both the fool and the wily conspirator equally.  Reid Watson as Decius had an excellent command of the language and a good stage presence that makes me want to see what more he has to offer beyond a tertiary role.  Samantha Maurice, another company member, made the bold choice to let her Cinna be a fangirl of Cassius: a re-contextualization of the character that largely works as a motivator for her arc.  Billie Wyatt as Lucius amused as the beleaguered servant of Brutus.  I preferred Andy Ingalls for his turn as Octavius a bit more than his turn as Portia.  While I found Scott Brieden's Calpurnia an interesting spin on the character more than his turn as Messala.

Ben Sheppard and Joshua H. Riffle, doing double-duty as various characters and band members, shone in every role they were asked to perform, electrifying the stage with what might have been, in other hands, been mere spear-carrier roles.

Julius Caesar is an exciting step forward for HID.  This production had several electrifying moments, and the whole concept came together for perhaps their most polished production to date.  The text was leanly cut - wisely leaving out the reading of the will, for example - although I actually missed a bit of the machinations in the second half of the war.  And the whole company wisely kept away from direct political commentary which has been done to death in NYC for the past few years, to merely let the universal story of power struggles play.

If I would desire anything going forward, however, it would be for the opportunity as an audience member to be allowed to feel more at a HID show.  As You Like It had a surprisingly haunting moment at the death of Adam - but it was a moment almost hastily swept under the rug, as though HID isn't sure whether their audience wanted to sit in a moment of melancholy.  But with the melancholy Dane on the horizon for the 2019 season, I hope that this exciting company allows all of their talents to shine, including the moving of hearts.

Regardless, for a riotous good time and a smart presentation of Shakespeare's Roman plays, this Julius Caesar is Highly Recommended.

Read Reviews of Hamlet Isn't Dead Shows

• As You Like It
• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Henry V 

Julius Caesar runs until December 8, 2018 at the Center at West Park.  Tickets here.