A ‘Julius Caesar’ for the Trump Era

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/opinion/a-julius-caesar-for-the-trump-era.html

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To the Editor:

Re “In ‘Julius Caesar,’ an Assassination Echoes Across the Centuries” (front page, June 13):

The Public Theater flatters President Trump in comparing him to Julius Caesar. Whatever one’s point of view on Caesar’s rise, no one disputes his genius and courage as a general, an orator, a war correspondent and above all a skillful politician who knew how to push every button in the Roman government. Donald Trump is no Julius Caesar.

For a far more salient model, look no further than Oedipus — the one who claims that he alone can end the plague (carnage); the one who loves prophecies (polls) that favor him, but sees conspiracies everywhere when the prophecies turn against him; the one who above all is in total denial that he himself is the problem.

“Julius Caesar,” “Oedipus the King” — the deeply subversive high school curriculum. Read and read again.

RON JANOFF, BROOKLYN

The writer is co-president of the New York Classical Club.

To the Editor:

“Julius Caesar,” in whatever production, is a condemnation of tyranny — by an individual or by a mob. The current production by the Public Theater makes plain that both Caesar and the conspirators who plot and carry out his assassination are violating the norms of democracy. The play also clearly demonstrates the dangers of rhetoric, showing how the mob can be swayed by powerful speakers.

The decisions by Delta Air Lines and Bank of America to withdraw support from the Public Theater show that they are part of the mob, incapable of independent, rational judgment.

We deserve better from our so-called patrons of the arts.

JOYCE ZONANA, BROOKLYN

The writer is a professor of English at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

To the Editor:

No matter where one stands on the sliding scale of politics, one can really judge the Public Theater production of “Julius Caesar” only if one has actually seen it — and not only seen it but stayed to the end of the performance. Viewing a clip on the internet is not enough to allow one to make judgments about the production.

For as long as humans have been making theater, theater has been a cradle of free speech, and the best theater causes humans to reflect and reconsider their lives. Few of those I have heard criticize this “Caesar” seemed to have also reflected and reconsidered much of anything about the production.

RANDY J. ROWOLDT, MINNEAPOLIS

The writer is a costume craftsperson at the Children’s Theatre Company.

To the Editor:

Try to imagine your reaction if a play had been staged depicting the lynching of a Barack Obama lookalike or the killing of a Hillary Clinton lookalike. Would you defend the artistic merits of the production?

DAVID MACNEIL, CHATHAM, N.J.

To the Editor:

President Trump’s supporters have expressed outrage over the Public Theater production of “Julius Caesar,” especially the assassination of a bouffant-blond Caesar.

Barbara Garson’s treatment of President Lyndon B. Johnson was much harsher in her long-running 1960s Off Broadway satire “MacBird.” In the play, a conniving, power-hungry MacBird (Johnson) has the John F. Kennedy character killed and takes his crown, only to die of a heart attack. As Shakespeare would say, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

JOHN M. DEDERERSTRATFORD, CONN.