Skip to main content

Two Sponsors Drop Out Over Trump-Like ‘Julius Caesar’

Sunday



Marvel as Antony, left, Tina Benko as Calpurnia and Gregg Henry as Caesar in a preview of “Julius Caesar” at Delacorte Theater in Central Park last month.
New York’s Public Theater lost support from two high-profile corporate donors on Sunday, Delta Air Lines and Bank of America, amid intense criticism of its production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” which depicts the assassination of a Trump-like Roman ruler.

Sign Up For the Morning Briefing Newsletter

The decisions by the two companies came after days of criticism online and in right-leaning media outlets that was amplified by Donald Trump Jr., a son of the president, who appeared to call into question the theater’s funding sources on Twitter on Sunday morning. By the end of the day, both corporations had distanced themselves from the production.

“No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of ‘Julius Caesar’ at this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values,” the company said in a statement on Sunday night.

“Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste,” the company said. “We have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of the Public Theater effective immediately.”

Bank of America followed hours later, saying it would withdraw financial support from the production of “Julius Caesar” but would not end its financial relationship with the theater, which a spokeswoman, Susan Atran, said had lasted for 11 years.

“The Public Theater chose to present ‘Julius Caesar’ in a way that was intended to provoke and offend,” Ms. Atran said. “Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it. We are withdrawing our funding for this production.”

The play is scheduled to open Monday at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park as part of the Public Theater’s free annual Shakespeare in the Park festival. It has been in previews since May 23.

The theater, its financial supporters and its production of “Julius Caesar” have recently faced a wave of criticism online and in right-leaning media outlets.

Last week, Breitbart, the far-right website formerly run by the White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon, compared the play to the controversial online photo that showed the comedian Kathy Griffin holding a severed head that resembled the president. (Ms. Griffin was fired as co-host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve program over the incident.)

But the play’s treatment of Caesar’s grisly assassination has also been questioned by theater critics, including Jesse Green of The New York Times. In his review, he wrote that the depiction of a Trump-like Caesar’s “bare, wound-ripped flesh” — something not called for in the original text — may make viewers wonder, “Has it gone too far?”

Criticism of the play reached a fever pitch on Sunday when Fox News reported that it “appears to depict President Trump being brutally stabbed to death by women and minorities.” Donald Trump Jr., a son of President Trump, joined in shortly after that report, seeming to question the theater’s funding sources.

The play nods frequently to Mr. Trump and 21st-century America. Caesar is portrayed as a tempestuous blond man in a blue suit with a svelte Slavic wife often by his side. The set design includes a blowup of the preamble to the United States Constitution. Some of the costumes are accented by Anonymous masks and the pussy hats favored by some Trump protesters.

Candi Adams, a spokeswoman for the Public, declined to comment on Sunday night on the uproar. She said the director of the play, Oskar Eustis, the theater’s artistic director, would be busy on Sunday evening with the Tony Awards.

Other corporate sponsors of the Public Theater, which include American Express and The Times, have also faced calls on social media to denounce the play or end their relationship with the Public.

Representatives for those companies did not respond to emails seeking comment on
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Drop your comments and feedbacks if the information you read was usefull

Trending

WONDER WOMAN SHUTS DOWN BOX OFFICE

Sunday
‘Wonder Woman’ Repeats Box Office Victory, Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’ Misfires Different weekend, similar story: “Wonder Woman” is box office royalty. The Warner Bros. and DC Comics standalone will have earned $57.2 million from 4,165 theaters by the end of its second weekend, putting it solidly in first place. That’s only a 45% drop from its opening weekend, giving the film an estimated $205 million domestically in two weekends. The Gal Gadot-starrer will also make more during its second frame than did both “Suicide Squad” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” despite those films having larger opening weekends than “Wonder Woman” ($133.7 million for “Suicide Squad” and $166 million for “Batman v Superman”). Unlike those two films, Patty Jenkins’ has critical support — a current 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Universal’s “The Mummy,” meanwhile is counting on a strong overseas total to make up for less impressive domestic earnings. As of Sunday morning, the film is eyeing $32...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iran Kills ‘Mastermind’ of Terrorist Attacks as Inquiry Focuses on Kurds

Sunday
 TEHRAN — In a cross-border strike, Iranian intelligence operatives hunted down and killed the “mastermind” of the terrorist attacks on two landmarks in Tehran last week, a top official said. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks at Iran’s Parliament building and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic, which killed 17 people. The Iranian official, Mahmoud Alavi, the intelligence minister, speaking on state television late Saturday night, described the man who was killed as “the mastermind and commander of the team” that carried out the assaults. Sign Up For the Morning Briefing Newsletter The suspect, whose name was not revealed, fled the country after the attacks, Mr. Alavi said, and was captured and killed with “the help of intelligence services of allied countries.” While the minister did not identify the area where the operation took place, his operatives have concentrated their search on the region ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

A House Democrat echoes Watergate in calling for Trump’s impeachmentBrad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Tex.) take questions about articles of impeachment for President Trump during a news conference on Capitol Hill on June 7. A House Democrat unveiled an impeachment resolution against President Trump on Monday, circulating legislative text that accuses Trump of obstructing justice by “threatening, and then terminating” James B. Comey, the former FBI director — and openly echoes charges that ultimately drove Richard Nixon from the presidency 43 years ago. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) told reporters last week that the draft resolution he was preparing would be “remarkably similar” to the obstruction-of-justice article that the House Judiciary Committee adopted against Nixon in 1974, and there has indeed been some intergenerational copying-and-pasting. “In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald John Trump, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice during a federal investigation,” reads Sherman’s draft resolution released Monday. Subscribe to the Post Most newsletter: Today’s most popular stories on The Washington Post. Article I of the 1974 resolution reads as follows: “In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice.” The particulars of the alleged high crimes and misdemeanors, of course, differ between the two presidents. But the resolutions conclude in similar fashion, accusing each of having “acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.” Sherman said Wednesday that he was “startled by the similarities to Watergate” in Trump’s alleged obstruction of justice — starting with the fact that both episodes included infiltration of the Democratic National Committee. “This is a sad day for our country,” he said. “Our Constitution and democracy require that our leaders be held accountable to the rule of law.” Sherman is not alone among Democrats in drawing direct comparisons between Trump and Nixon. Even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — who has carefully avoided encouraging premature talk of Trump’s impeachment pending fact-finding by federal investigators and congressional committees — has found Watergate comparisons hard to resist. “The White House said he’s not a liar,” she said in a Friday appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” referring to a statement from White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah H. Sanders. “Didn’t that sound like, ‘I am not a crook?’ ” While Sherman is the first Democrat to release an article of impeachment, he has yet to officially file it in the House. In a letter to colleagues Monday, Sherman said he would file his resolution “soon” and that “the evidence we have is sufficient to move forward now.” “I would hope that the Article, once submitted, would receive expeditious consideration by the Judiciary Committee,” he wrote. “However, if it becomes clear that such consideration is not forthcoming, I (after consultation with colleagues and leadership) will make a privileged motion that the entire House of Representatives immediately debate the Article” — thus forcing “our first impeachment-related vote.” A colleague, Rep. Al Green (D-Tex.), p

Sunday
Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Tex.) take questions about articles of impeachment for President Trump during a news conference on Capitol Hill on June 7. A House Democrat unveiled an impeachment resolution against President Trump on Monday, circulating legislative text that accuses Trump of obstructing justice by “threatening, and then terminating” James B. Comey, the former FBI director — and openly echoes charges that ultimately drove Richard Nixon from the presidency 43 years ago. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) told reporters last week that the draft resolution he was preparing would be “remarkably similar” to the obstruction-of-justice article that the House Judiciary Committee adopted against Nixon in 1974, and there has indeed been some intergenerational copying-and-pasting. “In his conduct while President of the United States, Donald John Trump, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the ...
Post a Comment
Read more