Julius Caesar on

Wall StreetBY:

ALVIN ABRAHAM

CHRISTOPHER ORTIZ

KEITH OLIVER

AND QUINTON HUEBNER

GROUP 70

The Style of the Play

For our play we decided to take a modern, elegant take on Julius

Caesar.

We kept the dark overtones that are present in the original play, but there were some obvious changes that had to be made.

These changes include the names of the characters, the downfall of

Julius, Brutus, and Cassius, the war between the two factions, and

obviously the setting of the play.

The Cast (Including their modern

names) Julius (Julian) - Leonardo DiCaprio

Cassius (Clayton) - Robert Downey Jr.

Brutus (Bruce) - Andre Holland

Antony (Anthony) - Ryan Gosling

Lepidus (Leo) - Neil Patrick Harris

Octavius (Orlando) - BJ Novak

Decius (Desmond) - Matt Bomer

Portia - Audra McDonald

Homeless - Tom Hanks

Flavius (Flynn) - John C. Reilly

Merullus (Mark) - Will Ferell

Plot: Act 1

The play opens with Flynn and Mark who are workers of Julian who are both upset at the lack of work getting done in favor of celebrating the praise of Julian in the Wall Street Journal.

Julian is receiving The Humanitarian Award of Wall Street for his work with his company Rome Incorporated and their efforts to benefit the community. While he is giving his speech a homeless man interrupts Julian telling him that he will soon fall. Julian ignores him and continues his speech giving no thought to the homeless man. On the stage with Julian is Bruce. A bird can be seen flying over Bruce’s head. In this scene the bird is white.

Later that day Clayton, the CEO of Dagger Enterprise and rival of Julian’s, goes to Bruce, the district attorney and longtime friend of Julian, and tells him how he believes that Rome Incorporated and Julian are gaining too much control of the economy and they are possibly doing it through illegal means. Bruce shrugs it off saying that he would need real evidence to even begin to investigate Julian.

Clayton then goes to Julian’s board members in secret and tells them that Julian has major character flaws that can harm the company if he still continues to run the company. The board members agree that they must plot against Julian in order to save their careers. They all agree that they must get fake evidence against Julian and give it to Bruce in order to get him and the law on their side.

Clayton and the board members then materialize evidence that will put Julian away for life. They plant it in the mailbox of Bruce for him to find next time he checks his mail. Act one ends with this scene.

Plot: Act 2

Act two opens up in Bruce’s kitchen where we see Bruce obviously stressed out and his wife, Portia, who is asking him what is wrong. Bruce explains that Clayton came to him and talked to him about how he believes Julian is doing incredibly shady business. He then checks his mail and sees the evidence that is planted. He realizes that he must prosecute his best friend. The bird that was at the award ceremony is present in the scene again flying outside of Bruce’s kitchen window. This time the bird is half white and half red.

Bruce then calls Julian and tells him of the charges he is facing. Julian says that there is no way that those are true and he won’t even entertain the idea of going into talk about the charges. Bruce then calls the board members and tells them they will have to bring Julian in to the office to be able to actually arrest him. Desmond then calls Julian and tells him that they heard about the charges and they figured it all out and that the charges have been dropped. He tells Julian that the board needs him to come in.

Julian is convinced to go into the office and he sees the same homeless man from the award ceremony while walking into his office. The homeless man tells him that he should not go in there because bad things will happen to him.

Plot: Act 3

Julian walks into the office where the rest of the staff and he sees his board members in his office. He walks into the office where nobody will really recognize him and then Bruce and two other police officers walk from a dimly lit part of the room. Bruce explains that Julian is under arrest for the crimes he committed and we can see Julian be carried away by the police officers. Leo and Anthony who were Julian’s right hand men shocked because they were left out of the conspiracy and they wanted to stand by Julian.

Bruce then goes to the main room of the office to address the staff of Rome Incorporated and tells them what Julian had done. We see the bird flying outside of the office and it is now mostly red. Anthony then speaks to the staff telling them that the charges were false and that Julian was a great man. He even tells them that Julian was going to give them raises. Anthony calls in the VP of the company, Orlando, and tells him that he is now in control of the company and tells him what happened. Orlando immediately fires the rest of the board. The former board goes to work for Clayton’s company and Orlando, Leo, and Anthony take control of the company.

The act ends with the staff of Rome Incorporated calling in death threats to Dagger Enterprise

Plot: Act 4

The new leads of Rome Incorporated are plotting to now go after the company Hermes: Logistics which is a private shipping company that is planning to go public. Since Hermes is a massive company whoever releases them on the stock exchange is going to make a lot of money off of the deal. Clayton learns of the company and that Rome Enterprise is going after them. He then decides that he must do something else in order to win the company that will give Dagger control of Wall Street. He meets with Bruce and tells him that there is more corruption in Rome Incorporated. Clayton convinces Bruce to freeze all activity within Rome Incorporated.

Bruce later visits Julian in jail and talks to him about things. Julian pleads Bruce to look over the evidence because he knows that he didn’t commit any crimes. Bruce agrees to do so because he is his friend.

Plot: Act 5

The leaders from Dagger Enterprise and Rome Incorporated run into each other at a restaurant for lunch by happenstance. This leads to a battle of words where many insults are thrown from both sides.

The leaders of Rome Incorporated are able to see with their superior stock knowledge that Hermes: Logistics is going to tank as a stock. They know that Dagger Enterprise will still be foolish enough to pursue the stock. They decide that it’s fine for Dagger to get the Hermes IPO because it will ultimately doom the company.

Hermes: Logistics signs with Dagger to release their IPO. As predicted their stock fails miserably and because they spent so much money to get Hermes to sign with them Dagger loses a massive amount of money and are left in financial ruin.

Bruce realizes that the evidence was false and he goes to talk to Julian about how sorry he is, but Julian wants nothing to do with him and yells at him about how he ruined his life and how he betrayed their friendship. Bruce walks out of the prison and he realizes that he must quit his job. While Bruce is walking off we see the bird who is now fully red flying above his head and the play ends.

Central Image

Prop - Bird

The central image of this play will

be a bird that follows Brutus.

The color of the bird will represents

Brutus’ internal struggle.

The bird is originally white but

begins to turn red as Brutus makes

wrong choices for what he thinks

are right reasons.

Placement

In the award ceremony scene the bird is white flying overhead (hanging from string mechanism).

At Brutus’ kitchen scene the bird is half white and half red, flying overhead as Brutus enters his house.

For the large office room scene the bird is seen in the same manner with

¾ of its body covered in red.

In the final jail scene the bird is seen completely covered in red as Brutus exits and enters.

The Stage

For this production we will be using a proscenium stage because

this play has scenes that require realistic scenery that can easily be

arranged in this type of theater.

Settings to Showcase

We’ve decided to use four settings that we believe best show off the

feeling of the play. The four settings we used are:

Award Ceremony (New York City Hall)

Bruce’s Kitchen

Rome Inc. Office

Riker’s Island Visitation Center

The Award Ceremony

Set Design Visuals: Setting 1

Imaginative visual of where

the scene will take place.

Props - podium, microphone, and movable stairs attached to pillars with concrete slab on top

Set Design Explanation: Setting 1

The audience will be looking at this scene from the same

perspective as the imaginative visual on the previous slide

This scene will use a fly system to hoist the background scenery of the front of New York city hall (the area directly behind the pillars

from the picture on the previous slide) .

There will also be movable stairs and several pillars connected to a

concrete slab that lies on the top.

A podium will be placed on the very top portion of the movable

stairs with a microphone on top of it .

Lighting Visuals: Setting 1

New York City Hall at Night

Lights Explanation: Setting 1

The main portion of the building will be displayed as a painted mural; there will be small lights behind the windows on the mural to simulate light coming from inside the city hall windows

A larger light will sit behind the upper domed tower area so it can be illuminated as well

Spotlights will be aimed at Julian and the mayor who is presenting the award on top of the steps while less intense stage lights will be shown on the crowd in front of them

The black sky behind the city hall will have very small lights shining through the mural to simulate the lights from skyscrapers behind the building at night

Costume Visuals: Setting 1

Julian’s tuxedo white to

distinguish himself as he is

being honored

Rest of the major characters

wear similar tuxedos as

shown for the event Women in audience wear a

variety of gowns in relation to

a gala event

Julian wears a white tuxedo to

distinguish himself from rest

All the costumes relatively easy

to switch out of during breaks

Wardrobe itself very modern,

slim cut for men and most

recent style dresses for women

The elegant nature of

wardrobe is appropriate for the

event and the homeless man

obviously sticks out

Homeless man (Tom Hanks)

shown in ragged clothes,

dirty, scraggly beard when

he interrupts the ceremony

Costume Explanation: Setting 1

Bruce’s Kitchen

Set Design Visuals: Setting 2

Imaginative visual of where

the scene will take place.

Props – evidence , bottles of

whiskey, wooden table and

countertop

Set Design Explanation: Setting 2

The audience will be looking at a frontal view of the imaginative

visual on the previous slide.

The left wall will have a standalone glass door structure with large windows on both sides that lead out into the backyard as

represented in the visual.

The small wooden table will be placed directly to the left of the

countertop with evidence from Cassius in a set of folders and bottles

of whiskey.

Lighting Visuals: Setting 2

Dark Kitchen SceneSingle overhead light above

where Bruce is sitting

Lights Explanation: Setting 2

The kitchen will be totally dark apart from one single, dim spotlight

on Bruce to simulate an overhead light above his table

His face will be shadowed for the most part but his posture will be

visible to show he is distressed, which sets a darker mood

As the scene transitions, the light will slowly fade to dark to create

the effect of foreshadowing of bad things to come

Costume Visuals: Setting 2

Bruce coming off a hard day

lets loose his tie and rolls up his

sleeve as he has a drink

Portia enters with a sleep robe to

a stressed Bruce

Fairly intimate scene the wardrobe is simple consistent with the

setting

Time of day is prevalent as Bruce comes off a long day of work

Being late at night, Portia notices Bruce still working and

comes out of bed into the room in a robe

Once again the costumes are simple to change out of during

break

Wardrobe conservative as life as a DA not as extravagant as

say one of the Wall Street jobs

Costume Explanation: Setting 2

Rome Inc. Office

Set Design Visuals: Setting 3

Imaginative visual of where

scene will take place

Props – Microphone and

multiple desks

Set Design Explanation: Setting 3

A fly system will be used to hoist background scenery of glass

windows to represent a high floor on an office building. The

audience will be looking at this scene through an aisle that has employees on both sides with the speaker at the at the end of the

aisle.

Brutus’ and Antony’s both give their speeches to Julius’ employees

with a microphone in hand.

The desks will be arranged in a chaotic manner after the employees

hear what Antony has to say.

Lighting Visuals: Setting 3Rome Inc. Office where Bruce and Anthony Speak

Lights Explanation: Setting 3

Bright white and blue floodlights to create the sense of daytime

All characters in the office will be easily distinguished under plenty of

light

Building shadows will be on the backdrop to create the New York

skyline in the background

Lighting focus will primarily be on the stage where Bruce and Anthony speak to the office

Costume Visuals: Setting 3

Bruce wears a conservative

suit suitable for his career

The extras wear a wide array of suits

tailored by a variety of designers, each

featuring a modern cut and array of ties

Anthony stands out with a

more flamboyant wardrobe

choice compared to the

others

• One of more difficult scenes to design

for with the amount of characters

present

• Important that each person

distinguishable in their profession (ex:

Bruce in more conservative, regular

suit)

• Anthony’s wardrobe reflects his

personality with his unique fashion

sense and willing to go out of the box in

regards to his colleagues• Anthony’s watch, although a minor

detail, aides in showing his leadership

role in the absence of Julian

Costume Explanation:

Setting 3

Riker’s Island Visitation Center

Set Design Visuals: Setting 4

Imaginative visual of where

scene will take place.

Props – Small metal table

with chairs, and handcuffs

Set Design Explanation: Setting 4

Scene 1 (Brutus’ visits Julius first

time)

This scene will show Julius eagerly waiting

to see Brutus with handcuffs at a metal

table towards the front of the stage

The metal chairs will also be arranged

properly under the table.

Scene 2 (Brutus visits Julius second time)

This scene will show Julius visibly

depressed with handcuffs at a metal

table towards the back of the stage

After their discussion Julius erratically

throws the metal chairs as guards try to

subdue him.

• Both scenes will use movable metal jail bars as the background scenery and the audience will be looking at this scene from the same perspective as the visual in the previous slide.

Lighting Visuals: Setting 4

Bright Jail Visitation Scene

Bright white stage lights shining over the

entire set

Lights Explanation: Setting 4

Essentially an all-white set which reflects the bright floodlights very

well

All characters and their expressions will be very visible and

illuminated

Sends the message that all the information is out in the open now

and the truth has been revealed

Costume Explanation/Visuals: Setting 4

Julian in a traditional prison

jumpsuit used by Riker’s

IslandBruce once again in

conservative classic

suit

Costume Explanation/Visuals:

Setting 4

Bruce arrives in less formal attire

in just a long sleeve shirt, no coat

• Only Bruce’s outfit

changes in between the

separate visits

• The wardrobe reflects

Bruce’s actions in each

visit

• On first occurrence he is

there on business and has

a professional look

• Second visit he is

overcome with guilt and

looks as if he has not

been able to sleep and

wardrobe acts as

reflection of this

• Julian’s jumpsuit reflects

his fall as he is no longer

unique from his peers in

jail