Did Broadway Critics Come to Praise Julius Caesar?

The presence of Denzel Washington as Marcus Brutus has made Daniel Sullivan's production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar one of the hottest tickets on Broadway this spring. The drama officially opened at the Belasco Theatre on April 3. Did critics think this production was the noblest of all the mountings that have come before it?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "[Washington] starts off rather quietly, but he eventually reveals a powerful voice that carries into the balconies of the Belasco Theatre. His fellow cast members, while not household names, are also comfortable with the Shakespearean language… Like the play itself, the production is at its best in the scenes in which Brutus, Mark Antony and Cassius deliver their big speeches. Some of the early scenes simply serve to set up the story, and the language is far from Shakespeare's most poetic. Despite some bold choices, Sullivan and his cast don't do much to enliven the early sections. The production becomes more exciting toward the end of the long first half… Sullivan and company deserve credit for breathing 21st-century life into a well-worn classic."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "As the most important passenger on Daniel Sullivan's fast, bumpy ride of a production, Mr. Washington does not embarrass himself, as leading citizens of Hollywood have been known to do on Broadway. But even brilliantined in the glow of his inescapable fame, he can't help getting lost amid the wandering, mismatched crowd and the heavy topical artillery that have been assembled here…. [Sullivan] has populated his Julius Caesar with performers who seem to have arrived from different planets in the great galaxy of show business. On the one hand, you have the naturalistic actors like Mr. Washington... On the other hand, you have fiercely classical interpreters who are going for Tragedy with a capital T… The overall effect is bewildering in the style of a free-for-all concert in which opera, jazz, light rock and musical comedy are performed simultaneously."

Clive Barnes of The New York Post: "Brutus, as Mark Antony almost endlessly assures us, is 'an honorable man,' and Denzel Washington plays him as a man of conflicted honor and slow-smoldering moral purpose. Washington plays him and wins in this production at the Belasco Theater--but rather narrowly… In the end, it is Washington as that 'noblest Roman of them all' who has to bear the burden of the production, and though at times, particularly in those doubt-ridden opening scenes, he falters, he never actually falls."

Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "Brutus had more concern for the common good than any personal enmity in murdering Caesar. This larger quality Washington does not project. His Brutus is a decent, well-meaning man, but we do not sense someone preoccupied with philosophical issues. Nor does he suggest the inner turmoil Brutus goes through before joining the other conspirators in the act that ultimately will lead to his own downfall. That turmoil comes through only in the strong work of Eamonn Walker, the production's Antony."

David Rooney of Variety: "If Daniel Sullivan's bloody, testosterone-fueled production falls short of thrilling reinvention, it succeeds in rendering the fall of the Roman ruler and subsequent civil war a gripping, highly accessible drama for mainstream Broadway auds… To Washington's credit, his performance… is very much in the service of the ensemble and not a scene-stealing star turn. Aside from one or two brief showy moments in Brutus' second-act clash with Cassius… the actor gives a reflective take on the ambivalent role. His Brutus is a good man of perceptive intelligence and contained authority, his actions dictated by causes larger than his own… This may not be the most conclusive Julius Caesar ever mounted, but it certainly carries a bang."

Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "Washington, the reason this revival was mounted in the first place, has a magnetic, forceful screen persona suggesting strength and warmth at the same time. Yet on stage, at least in this aggressive, modern-dress production directed by Daniel Sullivan, the actor comes across as subdued. His voice, while strong, lacks variety, producing a monotone at odds with the other, more vocally acrobatic actors on stage… In the end, Washington's Brutus remains opaque, more of a question mark than a real person."

Elysa Gardner of USA Today: "The leading man himself lends his usual sharp naturalism to Brutus, swallowing the occasional word but generally delivering a vigorous and entirely credible performance. Hecht's distraught Portia also is compelling, as are William Sadler's robust Caesar and Jack Willis' droll Casca. Unfortunately, two key cast members don't fare as well. As Cassius, Colm Feore is suitably cunning but too florid to establish a convincing rapport with Washington's earthy nobleman. Eamonn Walker's Antony poses an even bigger problem."

Linda Winer of Newsday: "How we wish that anything Denzel Washington does at the Belasco Theatre were as electric, or even as bemusing, as the introduction from his fan base at a recent preview. But this thoughtful and dashing actor--admired for his thrilling combination of intelligence, sweetness and understated power--is seldom more than blandly brooding in his first New York stage role in 15 years… Daniel Sullivan's modern-dress production, which opened last night, is action-packed but surprisingly predictable."