William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” was written over 500 years ago. It consisted of five acts and 18 scenes, and a full production lasted about 2 ½ hours. The tragedy had over 50 characters. When I read it for class in junior high school, I was fortunate to have a great teacher as well as the Cliff’s Notes summaries. I loved it! This Tyler Dobrowsky adaptation has reduced the play to 95 minutes with an ensemble of four actors in trimming the classic to its core, while using most of Shakespeare’s original language. It also takes place in modern times. I looked forward to seeing this classic play in its new form. Unfortunately, it didn’t succeed for me on several levels.
Julius Caesar had defeated his rival Pompey in 49 BCE and declared himself the dictator for life of the Roman Republic. But Cassius, one of the senators of the day, along with Casca, another senator, is convinced that Caesar’s ego is so huge, that he will destroy the republic, and that he wants to be its emperor, despite his turning it down three times. H
They convince Brutus, a close friend of Caesar’s, to join them in killing Caesar
Dobrowsky’s condensed version has the men dressed in fine blue business suits, talking at the bottom of a huge set of stairs. There is no action. They just talk and talk and talk, except when one makes or receives a call on his cell phone. It is actually a relief as we see the caller and texts sent by the men, in large projections above the minimal set. It is a relief from the boring presentation.
Shakespearian English is a challenge for modern audiences but with beautiful sets and costumes and action on the stage, it can be fun. As a teenager growing up in New York, I often went to see Shakespeare’s plays in Central Park. PTC’s production was neither fun nor interesting. I found the characterizations rather weak. There was little powerful emotion by the four men playing six roles. Whether it was the acting, the staging, or the directing by Morgan Green, it was often like listening to the actors at a first reading of the play. I never felt the power or charisma of Caesar. I never felt the love of Brutus for Caesar, and even the passion of Cassius seemed muted. It’s about loyalty and betrayal but it just wasn’t strongly presented.
The best parts were when I recognized some of the iconic lines from the bard’s great play, particularly the tribute by Marc Antony which begins “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” There is still much of the story that follows Caesar’s death. It was very difficult to stay focused until the lines I remembered were spoken.
While I appreciated the effort of Philadelphia Theatre Company and its co-artistic director Dobrowsky to abridge the piece and make it relevant to today’s time (there are images of the storming of the capitol on January 6 and of anti-ICE picketers in Minneapolis), it wasn’t an interesting piece of theater to sit through. Rather than an abbreviated rendition of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” it felt longer than 2 ½ hours.
“Caesar” adapted by Tyler Dobrowsky from the play “Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare at Philadelphia Theatre Co. at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19146, 215-985-0429 boxoffice@philatheatreco.org thru February 22, 2026
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 