Word: caesar
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Today's trainees, virtually reared on the tube, are hooked on the Army's version of Ding-Dong School. Unwittingly, they are participants in one of the few radical advances in teaching the arts of war made since the days when Julius Caesar's centurions were bawling out greenhorns as they learned the goose-stepping passus Romanus. Replacing hoary drill instructors are cool specialists; no longer mechanical spiels learned by rote and replete with undigested, ill-pronounced jargon, lessons are couched in the G.I.s' everyday language; small items of equipment once invisible to troopers...
MOST gifted in this alchemical effort are Daniel Seltzer as Caesar, and Susan Yakutis as Cleopatra. Seltzer's performance is especially impressive: not only are his readings rapid and controlled, but he succeeds in underplaying effectively a role which would tempt any actor to bravado. As the ultimate embodiment of the Shavian pragmatic, democratic, sympathetic Superman, he also manages to convey a vision of humility in majesty. Further, his discipline deserves to underline the character's moments of wit and emotion, and to set the lonely Caesar apart from the more broadly drawn figures who surround him. The greatest virtues...
...Where Caesar is magnificently consistent, Cleopatra is a little anthology of feminine character. In the course of the play she not only matures from kitten to queen, but exercises her option for whimsical action to the fullest. Miss Yakutis handles the various phases, moods, and transitions with considerable skill, and like Seltzer she shines in the scenes of intimate conversation. My only objection to her portrayal is that it leans something too heavily on the prop of youth. Even at her first meeting with Caesar, Cleopatra must be something more than girlish--she must demonstrate a potential for rule...
...members individual justice. But special mention must be made of Sheila Hart and Arthur Friedman (Ftatateeta and Pothinus). Their overbearing presences manage to evoke most of the corruption and tension in the atmosphere of the Egyptian court. Ed Etsten (Rufio) is physically and vocally perfect as Caesar's comrade-in-arms, though his performance lacks a good deal for variety. And when Leland Moss (Brittanus) drops the strange, epicene mannerisms which he has imposed on the character of the super-sophisticated reform barbarian, he has several moments of rare and special dignity...
...these are precisely the qualities lacking from too much stage comedy, and especially from comedy of ideas. An audience must be able to laugh, but it must also be able to respect itself and the object of its amusement afterwards. Among the many, many moments of laughter in this Caesar and Cleopatra, none is cheapened or distorted. And that is an accomplishment in itself...