NY Classical’s “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar”: a Play with No Stage

If you’ve seen Julius Caesar roaming the northern hills of Central Park recently, you were not hallucinating.

Its an outdoor production of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” by New York Classical Theatre. Members of the audience follow the actors as they roam through Central Park. After its engagement in the park ends on June 21, the production moves to Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side and then wraps up downtown at Battery City Park.

Stephen Burdman who is the director and founder of NY Classical uses the iconic green spaces of his outdoor settings almost as if the scenery was in and of itself a character in the story.

As the show began, there was a buzz of excitement as the actors made their way to the audience. Julius Caesar was played by Clay Storseth who wore a striking gold outfit and flowing purple cape while many of the supporting cast had realistic metallic shields and swords.

Brutus was played by Oneika Phillips, a character who felt blindsided by Caesar’s rise to power and grew to resent the one-time friend. As she plotted Caesar’s assassination, a romance between her and Portia who is played by Briana Gibson Reeves formed. The production showed a new way to look at the work through an LGBTQ+ lens. Each scene ending acted as a natural cut to the next place in the park where the audience got up and moved to. The audience trekked up a hill when Brutus was visited by Caesar’s ghost which created a perfectly eerie ambiance. The crew held flashlights pointed at the actors to create a haunting glow. In the grand finale, an epic sword fight ensued.

In an interview with Straus News held prior to the production on June 5, Burdman recalled that his love of Shakespeare began in college when he was cast in Hamlet.

“To be an artist is about getting personally involved,” he said. “We want to make professional theater accessible to everybody.” NY Classical is not just a company but a family. People who attended as kids have come back with kids of their own.

Burdman noted: “Shakespeare’s original theater was open-air, right? That is why we rehearse outdoors.” In a sense, the show which takes place as late afternoon turns to dusk and night, is the missing character in the show. He said, “I trust that the park is going to tell me and it always picks it.” For Burdman, putting on a play means playing pretend outdoors. Burdman laughed when he said people at the end of the show where they’ve been trekking after the actors, are often confused about where they have ended up in the park. To Burdman, it means that the audience has been thoroughly absorbed by the action of the play, and it means the job was well done.

As successful as the open air shows have been for New York Classical over the years, Burdman worries cuts to the arts by federal and state agencies will make things tougher going foward.

This year, Burdman proudly stated that the actors are all professionals and they are all getting paid for their work. But the mix of donors are changing. “We are currently about 70% funded by individuals,” he said, which is fortunate. “We lost $30,000 this year from NY State.”

Burdman said he thinks a play about the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar plays well in the current polarization in the country today. The production company has teamed up with the nonprofit organization Civics is Sexy to put on a presentation before select shows that educates people about the importance of using your voice and voting.

Burdman notes that while being outdoors obviously gives him less control over lighting and sound, he said it does give him more artistic freedom to experiment creatively. There was no space separating the actor and the audience which created a diegetic feeling. When there was outside noise, he instructed the actors to pause and gaze up. He called this a “helicopter cue” which the audience finds amusing. This protected their voices from strain. A four week rehearsal process was implemented that taught the actors how to project their voices in a healthy way outdoors where there were no microphones.

Actor Clay Storseth said his own interest in Shakespeare was piqued when he joined the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. This made him realize he was interested in doing theater work that had “no amplification and was very representational.” Since joining NY Classical in 2008, Storseth has performed in 19 shows and has a strong working relationship with Burdman.

Storseth said he loves Shakespeare’s language and the liberty it gives him to play as an actor. He explained that in Battery Park, “the Statue of Liberty is at our disposal. If you’re the king that is your kingdom.” Storseth did research on Caesar’s epilepsy and thought about how the current political moment resonates with themes in the show. The audience was particularly amused by Storseth’s return as the ghost of Caesar who haunts Brutus.

Oneika Phillips is a Broadway actress and dancer from Grenada. Phillips began her career as a dancer who came from the Caribbean to the United States. She attended the Shenandoah University Dance Conservatory and starred in Broadway shows such as “1776” and “Spongebob Squarepants.” She said that she found “great delight and deliciousness in bringing characters to life.”

Her passion for Shakespeare’s work began when she was young in Grenada as she recalled an influential teacher who made learning about Shakespeare enjoyable. Phillips said, “I think that is why I love it. I step into my godliness.” Phillips believes that acting is a powerful teacher of empathy. She said, “It opens up room for me to hear other people’s stories. I myself am a storyteller.” Phillips traveled the world on a tour of West Side Story and it forever changed her approach to acting because she was exposed to different cultures. Phillips was “bitten by the acting bug there.”

Phillips prepared for her role as Brutus by doing some reflection and letting “the words fill the people’s ears, mind and hearts.” An important part of Phillip’s creative process is being still. She said, “a lack of stillness takes away from the power of what is being said.” Phillips revealed that she learned a lot about being an actor by observing people all around the city.

As daylight waned, dogs laid on blankets and kids sat with their parents. For a second, the rumble of traffic faded away as Shakespeare came alive.

Aside from Clay Storseth who played Julius Caesar and Oneika Phillips played Brutus, the show featured several additional cast members.

The cast members include Anique Clements as Octavius, Cinna, and Flavius. Paul Deo, JR. starred as Mark Antony. Ian Gould starred as Metellus and Titinius. Nafeesa Monroe starred as Calpurnia, Trebonius and Messala. Carine Montbertrand starred as Cassius. Briana Gibson Reeves starred as Portia, Ligarius, Cinna the Poet, and Strato. Nick Salamone starred as Soothsayer, Lucius, Casca, and Lepidus.

The show, which starts 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sunday will run in Central Park (Central Park West at West 103rd Street) through June 21st before moving to Carl Schurz Park from June 23rd to June 28th. It finishes in Battery Park between June 30th and July 5th.