Quotable Quotes: On the Red Carpet with the Stars of Julius Caesar
WHAT: Opening night
WHERE: Gotham Hall
WHEN: April 3, 2005
"There's an energy about this. You don't see it often. It isn't like a big showy musical or a little tiny drama. This is a big spectacle on a major scale, and I think Denzel creates a lot of that excitement himself personally." --William Sadler, who plays Julius Caesar
"I couldn't pass it up. You know, it's a very unique and special event. Who wouldn't want to be a part of this? Everybody from Denzel on down is just so sweet and wonderful." --Tamara Tunie on the opportunity to perform in this production
"I think people--whether they know it or not--are realizing its relevance." --Jessica Hecht on the modern-day setting for the production
"I think it's good to make it 'now' because nothing's really changed." --Denzel Washington on the political relevance of the play
"We just tried to take it to the next level so that it would be fresh and new for everybody hearing it for the first time and not worry about how it was said before." --Eamonn Walker, who plays Mark Anthony, on his famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen…"speech
"She's very sensitive, and I think she recognizes the nature of their situation, and she cannot help herself. I prepare by just praying that obviously that I could control things and then sort of releasing myself into the scene where nothing is able to be controlled." --Jessica Hecht on playing the over-the-top Portia
"I wanted to get on stage. Broadway, off-Broadway, whatever. It wasn't so much Broadway, but I'll take it! I did want to get on the stage and do live theater, so when they approached me with this project, I jumped on it." --Denzel Washington on his return to the stage
"I'm so honored to work with the man. To stand next to that man and act or play is just mind-blowing. I'm truly an honored human being as we speak." --Eamonn Walker on working with Denzel Washington
"What he's done is, he's drawn a whole group of people, who for one reason or another, just would never come down to Broadway to see a Shakespeare play. Just wouldn't do it." --Colm Feore on how Denzel Washington's presence has brought new audiences to the show
"People have come from all over the world to see Denzel in this, and I don't blame them. I don't think they're disappointed at all. I think he's astonishing." --William Sadler on Denzel Washington
"It's about the work. That's why we're all here." --Denzel Washington on the lack of divas in the cast
"They're so moved by him. I think that it is profound that these people are being so affected by this man." --Jessica Hecht on Denzel Washington's fans
"To see them by the hundreds, standing outside after a performance, and even between two show days, Denzel is out there. He signs everything. If you were there, he signed it." --Colm Feore on Denzel Washington's interaction with his fans
"Its a great gig. We wouldn't be doing it if Denzel hadn't signed on. The Belasco would have another play in there or it would be dark right now. He's the thing that gave us all jobs." --Jack Willis, who plays Casca
"Somebody in the front row got some of our blood tonight. I think we're cleaning a cashmere jacket for them right now." --William Sadler on the great amount of fake blood used on the stage
"It's sticky. It's made of syrup and sugar and food coloring and it's sticky." --Jack Willis on the fake blood
"When you kill the head of the state, it's a big thing. You need all the blood you can get to get everybody to feel everything they should feel. " --Eamonn Walker on the use of blood
"'I want to be on that stage when that happens.' And it was phenomenal." --William Sadler on his thoughts when approached to play Julius Caesar
"Being with them is special. Very quickly everybody started to kind of support each other because we knew the task ahead. It was a hard job and with a man like Denzel as our head, we knew we head to step to the plate." --Eamonn Walker on working as an ensemble
"Though we may not use the same words now, we still have the same intentions. And incorporating those intentions into the language of Shakespeare, you really get what's going on." --Tamara Tunie on Shakespeare's unique language
"Putting suits on and army fatigues and all of that, it says, 'Hey, it's a human condition and things haven't changed that much.'" --Denzel Washington on the use of modern costumes in the play
"It is something I have been training for during most of my career: Getting ready to do Shakespeare, simply wherever people ask me to do it." --Colm Feore on his long career as a Shakespearean actor
"We came to work. We love the work. We love the language. And, we've come to love one another and this thing that we do." --William Sadler
"He's so wonderful. He's just very incredibly present and generous and so it's very easy actually. Very easy." --Jessica Hecht on working with her onstage husband Denzel Washington
"It's staggering. He's the 'founder of the feast' as we call him." --Colm Feore on Denzel Washington's performance as Brutus
"[Director Dan Sullivan] is the easiest man I've ever worked with and a great director. It starts with him and it trickles down." --Denzel Washington on director Daniel Sullivan
"We have tremendous talent backing us up. This is an extraordinary cast." --William Sadler
"It's great. It's opening it up and the people leave satisfied. They get it. Shakespeare is not above anybody. Shakespeare wrote for the people. He wrote for the common man." --Tamara Tunie
Interviews by Beth Stevens
Compiled by Grace Hernandez