CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE (SAN RAFAEL, Calif.) — Marin Shakespeare Company presents “Julius Caesar,” re-imagined and directed by Artistic Director Jon Tracy, running August 14 through September 13, 2026, at the Forest Meadows Amphitheatre on the campus of Dominican University of California.
This visually arresting examination of Shakespeare’s classic-staged with bold imagination under the summer sky-reimagines how epic storytelling can unfold in Forest Meadows. From the intimate tensions between confidants to the sweeping consequences for a nation, this unforgettable outdoor production delivers a vivid, visceral experience for the audience.
Set in an imagined Rome shaped by the lingering tensions of conflicts past and preceding the digital age, Tracy’s production places Shakespeare’s political tragedy inside a fractured society under constant pressure. Echoes of the Cold War run throughout the world of the play, where military power is ever-present, public devotion can become dangerous, and private relationships carry the weight of national consequence.
The production embraces the full theatrical capability of Forest Meadows Amphitheatre with a massive set taking over the entire stage and backstage area, allowing a scope large enough to showcase rallies, riots, and military actions; yet immediately intimate to expose human frailty, and the youth of a generation raised beneath the consequences of decisions made in their name. Familiar speeches unfold as demonstrations of how public certainty can be constructed, challenged, and redirected in real time.
Rather than approaching the play as a distant historical artifact, Tracy’s reimagining treats Shakespeare as a living inquiry – asking how fear becomes conviction, how conviction becomes duty, and how acts of harm can come to feel indistinguishable from protection, loyalty, or love of country.
The production centers the complicated humanity of the people caught within that process. Caesar is not presented simply as a remote political symbol, but as an aging and deeply private man whose vulnerability exists alongside his appetite for public adoration and power. Around him, friends, family members, political rivals, and citizens struggle to understand what is happening to their country-and what responsibility they bear for stopping it.
“No one in this play stands outside that pressure,” Tracy says. “Competing forces shape each person: fear and loyalty, ambition and care, belief and survival.”
Brutus and Cassius are reimagined as sisters, placing family history and intimate loyalty at the heart of the conspiracy. Around them, each character is forced to act amid shifting pressures of grief, ambition, and survival.
“Theatre allows us to witness formation before it hardens into history,” Tracy says, “and to see certainty constructed one choice at a time.”
The result is not a simple argument about heroes and tyrants, but an investigation into leadership, obedience, belonging, and the stories nations tell about what they have done.
“Julius Caesar” features Bay Area favorites Johnny Moreno as Julius Caesar, Bridgette Loriaux as Brutus, Charisse Loriaux as Cassius, and Brady Morales-Woolery as Mark Antony. They are joined by Natalie Adona as Calpurnia, Dave Garrett as Casca, Molly Noble as Decius, Steve Price as Port, and Mary Ann Rodgers as Cinna.
Performances run August 14 through September 13, 2026, at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, located on the campus of Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
Tickets are available now at: https://www.marinshakespeare.org/
Note: Julius Caesar contains scenes of violence, stage blood, and prop weapons, and may not be suitable for audiences of all ages.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS:
“JULIUS CAESAR”
August 14 – September 13, 2026
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 5 p.m.
Forest Meadows Amphitheatre
890 Belle Ave, San Rafael, CA
Tickets $0 – $49
Aug 14 – “Preview” (Discount Tickets from $10-$25)
Aug 16 – “Senior Matinee” ($20 Tickets for Seniors 65+)
Aug 23 – “Family Day” (FREE Admission for youths age 25 and under)
Aug 27 – “Pay-What-You-Will” (Choose your own price!)
Aug 28 – “Full Moon” (Enjoy a full Moon rising above the stage!)
Student Matinees are available on September 4th and 11th at 11 a.m. Contact Elana Kepner (education director) or visit the website for more information or to schedule your group. Financial assistance is available. More info at https://www.marinshakespeare.org/shakespeare-for-student-audiences/
ABOUT MARIN SHAKESPEARE COMPANY:
Stories live at Marin Shakespeare Company, constantly reimagined and renewed through the bold choices of the artists who shape them. We strive to be a hub for connection, using the complexity of world stories-past and present-through multiple theatrical forms to open space for questions, reflection, and action. Our productions invite audiences into worlds that are alive, urgent, and fully human, where laughter, wonder, and challenge coexist. Marin Shakespeare Company is Playing for Good. Learn more: https://www.marinshakespeare.org/.
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This version of news first appeared on CaliforniaNewswire.com © 2026 – all rights reserved.
