Nestled in the hills of Topanga is one of Southern California’s gems over the last 50 years – Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum. And even though its performers had to press pause on telling Shakespearean stories over the past year and a half, the 2021 repertory season highlights a praiseworthy return to form, with Covid-friendly and refreshingly brisk interpretations of the Bard. One of these plays is the still poignantly germane “Julius Caesar,” which is directed with snappy precision by Ellen Geer, who underscores the play’s key details in a neatly trim fashion, spanning 80 minutes. In addition, costume designer Tracy Wahl has dressed the actors in stage-commanding tunics and togas that take us back to 44 B.C. in Rome, Zachary Moore’s lighting design does a fantastic job of fixating our attention to this moral tale, and Marshall McDaniel’s music punctuates the growing intensity of each scene. In the balance lies both a love of country and a humanistic imperative to push for democratic measures over despotism.
Max Lawrence and Gerald C. Rivers in “Julius Caesar” at the Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, CA. Photo by Ian Flanders
“Julius Caesar” gets off to the great start that it does thanks to Gerald Rivers, the narrator and soothsayer, whose premonition of the “Ides of March” portends the play’s outcome. Standing at the front of the stage, Rivers speaks to the audience with passion, teetering between his two characters and his real-life personage – a noted “amateur sociologist.” He appeals to our civic duties as people who must voice our opinions lest we fall into the unnavigable abyss of a dictatorship, which characterized Caesar in life and in the aftermath of his assassination. Certainly, there are parallels to be drawn between factions within Rome and the divisions salient in modern-day, pulled apart even more so due to stark differences in wealth. Pointing this out, as Rivers does, encourages the audience to invest themselves at the outset.
Even apparently good people can be tainted by the draw of power, which is a fate that befalls Julius Caesar. His abuse of his dominion over Rome garners the attention of those who ultimately become his conspirators and violently unseat him – led by Brutus and his brother Cassius as well as Martellus, Marcellus, Casca, and Trebonius. For the conspirators, the prospect of eliminating the threat of Caesar, and in how they comport themselves afterwards, is to be done with integrity for the higher ideal of a democratic republic. However, intentions rooted in righteousness can, too, become rotten, in this case also complicated by Mark Antony’s rhetorical powers, which turn back the tide against the conspirators, leaving Rome in a chasmic ruin.
Caesar is played convincingly with equal pomp and snark by Mark Lewis, whose expressions add weight to the timeless figure’s words. Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, portrayed by Cindy Kania-Guastaferro, provides another compelling warning, like the soothsayer does, of the dictator’s impending “sacrifice.” Of the conspirators, Franc Ross brings venerability to the role of Casca; Steven C. Fisher brings an upstanding quality to Trebonius; Matthew Domenico infuses his Martellus with a robust earnestness; and Max Lawrence augments Marcellus’ drive to be loyal and do the right thing with his superb acting. Theatricum Botanicum veterans Christopher W. Jones and Melora Marshall do Brutus and Cassius, respectively, a terrific justice. Jones adeptly communicates Brutus’ high-principled conscience – such as how besieged he is by the conspiracy he leads — and incorruptible nobility in the face of power. Sadly, Cassius is not entirely immune to this, and there is an enthralling scene where Marshall, a consistent tour de force onstage, remarkably conveys a mélange of vexation and remorse when confronted by Jones’ higher-minded Brutus.
While the talent on display is indisputable, what takes this production of “Julius Caesar” to another echelon is the otherworldly performance of Michael McFall, who inhabits Mark Antony with a spectacular finesse that is deserving of a nomination or two. Antony, who initially seems to be accepting of the conspirators’ actions, abruptly pivots his position with oratorical deftness to earn the public’s endorsement and avenge Caesar’s death. In the wake of this, McFall connects with the audience and doesn’t let go. His Antony exclaims with strategic rationality, snarling and trembling with conviction. At his angriest, he is consumed, paradoxically, by the apotheosis of reason and the devil incarnate himself as he glowers like the hot sun and as his eyes roll back into his head, where on his brow sweat droplets gather like an army intent on revenge.
When the play comes to a close, Rivers bookends his introduction with a parting question: “How can we write a new end to this story as citizens?” In other words, how can we prevent those like Caesar from rising to power and becoming a detriment to freedom and true equality? Throughout history, democracy has been the exception, not the rule, making it all the more precious as a result. This rendition of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” at the Theatricum Botanicum, which runs through October 30th, is absolutely worth experiencing for it acts as a purposeful reminder of what we seek to lose if we don’t do our part.
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Topanga, CA.
For more information, please visit theatricum.com or call (310) 455-3723
