Theater defends ‘Caesar’ despite loss of sponsors, Trump criticism
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 is 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 Monday, the theater said it stands “completely behind” the production. It noted that its staging has “provoked heated discussion” but “such discussion is exactly the goal of our civically-engaged theater.”
Other defenders included New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, who sarcastically tweeted to both Delta and Bank of America: “What a mistake. Actually reading Julius Caesar might help in the future. Your copy is in the mail.”
Though the Public’s version of William Shakespeare’s classic play is unchanged from its 400-year-old original, the production portrays Caesar with a gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife. Trump’s name is never mentioned, but backlash was swift.
On Sunday, Donald Trump Jr. retweeted a Fox News story about the play and wrote, “I wonder how much of this ‘art’ is funded by taxpayers? Serious question, when does ‘art’ become political speech & does that change things?”
Delta responded by saying “artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste.” American Express, which in the past has sponsored productions at the Public’s downtown theater, said it is not a sponsor of Shakespeare in the Park or this production of “Julius Caesar,” adding: “We do not condone this interpretation of the play.”
Bank of America said the Public chose to present the play “to provoke and offend” without the bank’s knowledge: “Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it.”
“Julius Caesar” ends its run Sunday. The comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” begins in the park July 11.
The National Endowment for the Arts, which Trump once proposed eliminating, said in a statement that though the Public’s Shakespeare programming has received its grants in the past, none were awarded for “Julius Caesar” or for funds supporting the New York State Council on the Arts’ grant for the Public.
Theater-lovers quickly noted that a national tour of “Julius Caesar” in 2012 by The Acting Company featured a Caesar played by a black actor in a modern business suit who resembled then-President Barack Obama. Sponsors of the Guthrie Theater, including Delta, apparently had no objections when that show landed in Minneapolis.