Julius Caesar is one of the most disappointing productions to appear at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in recent years. The problems begin with the casting; both Jeff Swarthout (Cassius) and Donald Sage Mackay (Brutus) are poor matches for their roles physically, and Mackay compounds the problem by fashioning such a cold, cerebral Brutus that it's difficult to become involved with him at all. Even his relationship with Portia (Carrie Baker) is so distant and passionless, it's hard to believe they are husband and wife.
Joe Cronin creates a crafty, ambitious, and ambiguous Caesar, and Todd Denning's Mark Antony is cunning and charismatic. While they're around during the first half of the play, they bolster the momentum, but after they disappear, the action flattens out and boredom sets in. Director Jim O'Connor does well with the crowd scenes, capturing the fickleness of public opinion and the volatile instability of mob behavior. Caesar's assassination and Antony's funeral oration are also staged effectively, but otherwise his direction is shapeless. Julius Caesar is a problematic play anyway because of its split focus, and this production only widens the gap.
