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'Julius Caesar' as powerful today as ever Cassius (Rodney Gardiner), left, and Brutus (Danforth Comins) muse on what may happen during battle on the plains of Philippi, as soldiers prepare in the background in "Julius Caesar" at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. [OSF photo by Jenny Graham] Tuesday Feb 28, 2017 at 5:51 PM Feb 28, 2017 at 5:56 PM By Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune The Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "Julius Caesar" begins with a manic and joyful mob stamping and shouting in militaristic precision, Caesar walking among them, dressed in white. Shakespeare's powerful political piece spans the stage and the centuries, the notion of a man so loved by his people, so envied by his senators, that he had to die. Julius Caesar is played by Armando Duran, an actor with 18 seasons at OSF. He’s the eponymous center of the play, but it’s Caius Cassius, Marcus Brutus and Mark Antony who are the focus of the drama. Rodney Gardiner is superb as Cassius, smarmy and whiney, a weasel inciting dissent and discontent who gathers together those who will murder Caesar on the Ides of March. Brutus (Danforth Comins) falls prey to Cassius’ green misery, not out of envy but in fear for his country, that Caesar will gather too much power to himself. Comins is noble in his torment, distraught in his indecision, troubled but loyal to his comrades. He’s also tender in his love of Portia, and the small boy who serves him. Perhaps the most powerful role, and the most masterful performance, belongs to Jordan Barbour, who, as Mark Antony, never betrays his love for Caesar, his trust that Caesar is a good man. This is Barbour’s second season at OSF, and his role matures over the course of the play, becoming harder and stronger. Mark Antony’s grief at Caesar’s death is potent and painful, and Barbour’s voice rings out strong and true across the great hall. Only yesterday Caesar was loved, but today a rabid crowd, masked and fearful, crow at his death. The truth of Mark Antony’s words (and Caesar’s beneficence) turn the mob on their conspirators. Set design, lighting and sound in the 2017 performance are outstanding. The minimalist set and shattered white backdrop presage the collapse of a great state and the murder of a man who refused the crown: Julius Caesar. Strobes, stabbing beams and brilliant red and orange set lighting signal war, blood and death as surely as do the soothsayer, portents and omens. The two sides are indistinguishable, deliberately so as all are of one nation, ordinary people caught up in a civil war. Unforgettable are the beating drums and the ensemble’s slaps and stamps perfectly choreographed with massive bodies slashing and panting, at ever-increasing frantic speed, accelerating the pace, the onset of war and the battle at Philippi, and death. Few flaws were visible to the audience on opening night. At times it was difficult to hear Duran and Amy Kim Waschke (Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia). The mob that gathered after Caesar’s murder wore masks that were visually effective in the performance but served to swallow the actors’ lines. Shana Cooper, now in her third OSF season, directs "Julius Caesar." Cooper brings national and regional experience with the Shakespeare canon to her work at OSF. The 2017 production is OSF’s seventh. "Julius Caesar" reflects a society in transition at the loss of a leader, and the tension that can erupt into violence as ambition, envy and vision shape the emotional and physical response of a people and the body politic. "Julius Caesar" is a cautionary tale, a message to our nation about the costs of violence and our individual responsibility to arrest the cycle of violence. Plutarch’s history of Julius Caesar, dramatized by Shakespeare, and reinterpreted today by OSF, sends a warning as important historically as it is in our time. "Julius Caesar" continues in the Angus Bowmer Theatre through Oct. 29. The performance runs two hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission. There’s blood and graphic violence, so the play is not suitable for children or the weak of heart. The production is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. For full immersion, plan to go to one of the four OSF prefaces on Julius Caesar, at noon March 18 and 25, and April 15 and 22. For more information, including a video interview with director Shana Cooper, see www.osfashland.org. — Maureen Flanagan Battistella is a freelance writer in Ashland. She can be reached at [email protected]