Bloodied, but unbowed

Theatre stands firm after criticism of Caesar as Trump

NEW YORK The Public Theater is refusing to back down after backlash over its production of Julius Caesar that portrays a Donald Trump-like dictator in a business suit with a long tie who gets knifed to death onstage.

Delta Air Lines and Bank of America have pulled their sponsorship of the Public’s version of the play, but in a statement released Monday the theatre said it stands behind the production. It noted its staging has “provoked heated discussion” but “such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically engaged theatre; this discourse is the basis of a healthy democracy.”

Other defenders included Scott M. Stringer, the New York City comptroller, who wrote letters to the heads of Delta and Bank of America, arguing that dropping their support “sends the wrong message.” He writes: “Art matters. The First Amendment matters. Expression matters.”

Before Monday night’s performance, the play’s director, Oskar Eustis, delivered a statement, which he urged audience members to record on their cellphones.

“Neither Shakespeare nor The Public Theater could possibly advocate violence as a solution to political problems and certainly not assassination,” he said.

Though the Public’s version of William Shakespeare’s classic play is unchanged from its 400-yearold original, the production portrays Caesar with a gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife.

Julius Caesar ends its run Sunday.

Laurence Maslon, an administrator and arts professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, said it was disingenuous for large corporations that have backed the Public for years and enjoyed co-opting its downtown cool vibe to sound alarmed now.

“You’ve got to know what you’re getting into,” he said, adding that the Public has “50 years of the most provocative, politically engaged work.”