“…Jonathan Munby’s visually thrilling, exciting and richly wrought production of “Julius Caesar” – which opened Wednesday night and features everything from a flash mob to a hot-dog stand to soldiers rappelling from the rafters of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater -comes to life with celebrants milling around some granite-clad capitol or another.”
~Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
“…Updating Shakespeare often betrays a tragic flaw: the substitution of novelty, or shock value, for the thing itself. All too often the language that bears the drama is subverted by empty trappings of currency. Then along comes the exception, the rare radical concept that devoutly serves the play, and you have something as bold, provocative and yet luminous as director Jonathan Munby’s modernized “Julius Caesar” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.”
~Lawrence B. Johnson, Chicago on the Aisle
“…This production is roughly 2 1/2 hours ( with an intermission) and is spellbinding from start to finish. Even though we know it is a tragedy and there is a great deal of death and war, we know that Shakespeare did have a meaning to what he penned. This is a story about politics and one may notice some resemblance to today’s world; it is a story about losing democracy ( or the fear of losing it, if a King is declared); Who should have the power? one man, his cabinet or anyone who wants it? And of course, one of the big ones, what happens when the structure of life changes? We all have our own fears, and as the economy does it’s swing, prices at the pumps rise, taxes increase, we can see that this is not a new fear, it has been around since the days of Shakespeare, and before.”
~Alan Bresloff, Around the Town Chicago
