A Review

Publicity Photos by Jeff Frazier

More info: Nashville Shakespeare Festival

I'd forgotten how much I like live theater 

This afternoon, Monica and I went to see Eddie George in the title role of Julius Caesar. It was at the Troutt Theater on the Belmont University campus. This small theater was sold out (at least on the main floor, there may have been some available in the balcony), which may have been 200 people.

I was very impressed with the whole production. The acting was very good, yes including Eddie George. He has done several other acting gigs, and seems to do well at it. The actor playing Brutus I thought really brought some sincerity to the role, and the actress who played Caesar's wife was excellent. There was also a young lady in the play, Maya Abrams, who Monica and DJ know. 

The staging and direction showed some imagination as well. Having the actors in the crowd scenes start out in the audience brought us into those scenes, especially the Brutus speech at Caesar's funeral ("Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears"). The use of lighting and the minimum stage props helped give some dimension to the scenes. And the death of Caesar was brilliant! Instead of just having 5 or 6 guys stab him, Caesar fought back, and it was the most active fight I've ever personally seen on stage, so much so that, when Brutus made the fatal blow, you actually gasped, and felt the sorrow in Caesar's "Et tu, Brutus?"

I love live theater, especially when it's well done. And reasonably priced ($22 each today). It always takes a little extra work for Shakespeare because of the flowery language, but it's worth it. So many people will probably never experience the atmosphere of live theater, the feeling that those actors on that stage not far away are doing this just for you. Today was the last day for Julius Caesar, but I'm going to keep my eyes open for further productions, especially Shakespeare in the Park.