So once a year in August (twice if I'm lucky) I go out for an evening and see the annual Shakespeare Santa Cruz production. This year was A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was the first SSC production I ever saw, and Julius Caesar. We went to see Julius Caesar, which I didn't enjoy too much while reading.
But holy fuck, was it ever good onstage.
First of all, the man who played Brutus was absolutely fantastic. He was so tragic, so conflicted, so full of love for his country and his friends and his wife and his Cassius and even Caesar, and he showed it, and he broke my heart in the end. It hurt so much in the end, when he died, and that was so amazing. (It hurt so good!) If ever I see Caesar again, I very much doubt that Brutus will compare to Mr Scott Wentworth.
Also memorable were Cassius, played by Chris Butler (who apparently appeared on an episode of Criminal Minds! Crazy stuff!), and Marc Antony, played by Jonathan David Visser. And Trebonius and Lucilius, not so much because they did a lot but because the actor who played them both, Evans Eden Jarnefeldt, looked and sounded ridiculously similar to Gareth David Lloyd (the actor who plays Ianto Jones in Torchwood).
And hey, the scene where Brutus kissed Cassius? Pretty memorable, too. Shakespeare Santa Cruz is good stuff.
The costuming was all fairly modern-day, as was the setting and general atmosphere. The soldiers all carried fake machine guns. What I love most of all about SSC is how experimental they can be with their costume/setting themes. This was very pointedly contemporary, very political, and very effective. They also have a lot of live music, performed by the actors - not as much as was in Twelfth Night, or As You Like It, but still some. Very effective use of the ensemble. They were quite a convincing rabble.
So all-in-all, a brilliant performance. If you live anywhere near Santa Cruz (which very few of you actually do) and haven't seen it yet, I definitely recommend it. If you don't... well, maybe you should consider making a trip out here, some August, and catching a performance.
Also, thank you to all the firefighters who kept the Lockheed fire from cancelling the performances.
But holy fuck, was it ever good onstage.
First of all, the man who played Brutus was absolutely fantastic. He was so tragic, so conflicted, so full of love for his country and his friends and his wife and his Cassius and even Caesar, and he showed it, and he broke my heart in the end. It hurt so much in the end, when he died, and that was so amazing. (It hurt so good!) If ever I see Caesar again, I very much doubt that Brutus will compare to Mr Scott Wentworth.
Also memorable were Cassius, played by Chris Butler (who apparently appeared on an episode of Criminal Minds! Crazy stuff!), and Marc Antony, played by Jonathan David Visser. And Trebonius and Lucilius, not so much because they did a lot but because the actor who played them both, Evans Eden Jarnefeldt, looked and sounded ridiculously similar to Gareth David Lloyd (the actor who plays Ianto Jones in Torchwood).
And hey, the scene where Brutus kissed Cassius? Pretty memorable, too. Shakespeare Santa Cruz is good stuff.
The costuming was all fairly modern-day, as was the setting and general atmosphere. The soldiers all carried fake machine guns. What I love most of all about SSC is how experimental they can be with their costume/setting themes. This was very pointedly contemporary, very political, and very effective. They also have a lot of live music, performed by the actors - not as much as was in Twelfth Night, or As You Like It, but still some. Very effective use of the ensemble. They were quite a convincing rabble.
So all-in-all, a brilliant performance. If you live anywhere near Santa Cruz (which very few of you actually do) and haven't seen it yet, I definitely recommend it. If you don't... well, maybe you should consider making a trip out here, some August, and catching a performance.
Also, thank you to all the firefighters who kept the Lockheed fire from cancelling the performances.
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