Great
Caesar's ghost!
UAA theatre
department offers Shakespeare with a twist
By Will Vandergriff
Northern Light
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"Julius
Caesar" (~
Dec. 9)
- Directed
by Frank Bebey
- Rating:
3/5
Place:
Mainstage Theater in the Arts Build
Time:
- 8
p.m. (Fridays and Saturdays)
- 3
p.m. (Sundays)
Admission:
- $10 for students with
valid I.D.
- $17 for general public.
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The opening sequence
of Frank Bebey's directorial return to the University of
Alaska Anchorage Arts Buidling Main Stage Theatre is worth
the show itself.
Bebey returns
after a decade-long absence to give local theatre buffs
a modern retelling of William Shakespeare's classic tale
of back-stabbing, literally, and political slander, “Julius
Caesar.”
Trimmed to a
tight and tidy two acts and two hours, Bebey's view comes
across more on the lines of minimalist-industrial over pompous
excess.
The real star
of this show, outside of stellar performances from Yosh
Hayashi and Brent Bateman as nemeses Cassius and Marc Antony,
is the sound engineering and effects of Frank Hardy and
Rob Kreps.
The tale modernizes
the story and sets the rival camps of Caesar-loyalist Antony
and Octavius against the dissenters Cassius and Brutus in
a post-modern world ruled by factions and their armies.
But the armies are only implied and given to the audience
through stunning visuals over the center stage landing provided
by C. Matt Sun.
Hayashi occasionally
stumbles over his delivery, but more than makes up for it
with his powerful portrayal of Caesar's aide, whom the emperor
dim-wittedly laments to a senator “is too thin, would
he were fatter.”
Which is the
problem with the show. After getting past the brutal assassination
of the man and bearing witness to the in-fighting and covert
actions and inactions of his peers we're veered back to
the real world by Casear's ghost haunting Brutus and being
laid to rest by Mark Antony.
In one of the
finest monologues I've seen at UAA, Bateman endears himself
to the audience with his finesse and stern staccato delivery
and spot-on timing that finds no breaks between him and
his recorded chorus of angry senators and ploebes.
Running at the
Arts Building Main Stage through Dec. 9, “Julius Caesar”
is not for the casual fan. Then again, the Shakespeare purist
may find the story butchered in length and lacking in a
coordinated assault the likes of which would do Antony proud.
Bebey's return
is successful because he pulls off recognizable Shakespeare
while still adding an interesting twist to its interpretation.
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