New York City’s innovative theater ensemble for classical theater Ensemble Shakespeare Company (ESC) presents its dynamic and contemporary staging, examining what happens when political ambition collides with moral conviction and civil discourse gives way to violence. The cautionary tragedy is uniquely placed in modern antiquity, where the problems, potentials, and personalities of the 21st century AD and 1st century BC conflate and converse.

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar tells the story of a murder that changed the course of western civilization. Far more, however, than dramatizing a bloody assassination, the play invites us into the hearts and minds of the humans whose words, actions, and ambitions transformed their society and indeed our world. The play never decides who is right but invites the audience to engage with its debates on democracy, leadership, morality, and honor.

ESC Executive Director Dylan Diehl* directs an ensemble cast of fifteen, including Guest Artists Mark Dacascos (John Wick 3, Iron Chef) and Pedro Garza* (Cabaret) with ESC Company Members Dylan Diehl*, Rob Hatzenbeller*, Susannah Hoffman*, Dennis Kear*, Gerrard Lobo, Paul Marchegiani, Diego Millan, Celeste Moratti, Ella Olesen*, Katie Pelensky,* Matisse Ratron-Neal, Erin Roth*, and Joe Staton.

“This Caesar works to erase any distance between the audience and the story, inviting everyone into a thrilling and perilous forum of ideas without impediment or preconceived notion. ESC serves the play’s full immediacy and ferocity, allowing Shakespeare’s debate over power, principle, violence, and civic responsibility to unfold in all its complexity, so the audience becomes an essential co-conspirator in the storytelling,” said Diehl. “Our full-text production preserves the breadth of voices, arguments, and perspectives in the play, giving the story particular urgency at a moment when questions of civil unrest, leadership, and the fragility of democracy feel especially close to home.”

ESC’s ensemble-based approach to creating theater is rooted in the belief that Shakespeare is for all, creating dynamic, and intimate productions that invite audiences into the story as active participants.

The runtime is approximately two hours and thirty minutes, plus one 15-minute intermission.