Tonight, I journeyed alone, further southside, away from the madding crowd.
Definitely the right direction!
The Armstrong Masquers performed "Julius Caesar", yet another fine bit of Shakespeare to add to my growing list this year.
What an interesting take on an old story!
The upper left shows Julius Caesar clasping Cassius to him and the upper right is of Brutus having a sex-charged moment with Cassius.
Say what? Cassius as a woman?
You bet. The language works unchanged, save for pronouns.
Makes you wonder just how close the 'good old boys' of Rome truly were.
The lower panel is non-genderbending, illustrating a tense moment shared between Brutus and his wife, Portia.
Amazingly, the audience was quite willing to suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride! Quite possibly they had read the excellent article by Anna Chandler, as I had.
(In fact, the photos above are from that preview of the show. My favorite line from her is the last line: "Littered in omens, pride, and revenge, it’s a fine follow-up to your Halloween weekend.")
However, perhaps the very talented cast had a lot to do with the audience's participation. Taurus (TJ) Vaughn as Caesar, Amira Williams as Cassius, Walter Pigford as Brutus, Jonathan C. Handley (my former student) as Casca (the flatterer), Tristan Carlson as Metellus: all gifted and experienced regulars in these productions.
And, then, of course, there's Gabe Michael, who was stunning as Marc Antony. Stunning. He is always professional in his approach and brings up the entire cast by his presence. Tonight, his dad and his grandmother were in the front row. I met them afterward and made sure they understood how much I appreciated Gabe's dedication to his craft.
His was not the only grandmother present. I sat beside the paternal grandma of Ashlin Cross, who did a fine job as Caesar's wife, Calphurnia. Her grandparents have followed her to Savannah, so I look forward to seeing them again.
Great work, y'all!
No comments:
Post a Comment