[caption id="attachment_34355" align="alignleft" width="183"]<img class=" wp-image-34355" src="https://mountainmedianews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2018/09/susman.jpg" alt="" width="183" height="138" /> (Photo courtesy Greenbrier Valley Theatre)<br />Courtney Susman, associate artistic direct/education director and director of GVT’s 2018 production of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar[/caption] <h1>Greenbrier Valley Theatre (GVT), the state professional theatre of West Virginia, is proud to present William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.</h1> The classic tragedy runs Sept. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. with a Pay-What-You-Can Preview performance Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. The public may attend scheduled matinees during the week. Call the Box Office for more information on attending school matinees. Tickets are $30 for general adult admission, $27 for seniors (60+) and $20 for children/students. For more information, call the GVT Box Office at 304-645-3838 or visit www.gvtheatre.org. Shakespeare’s tragedy is a political thriller in which politics collide when Brutus and chief conspirator, Cassius, intervene to stop Caesar’s rise to absolute power. Instead of redeeming the republic, their regicide throws the country into chaos. GVT’s production will put a contemporary spin on Shakespeare’s classic play. Directing this new contemporary version is GVT’s Associate Artistic Director and Education Director Courtney Susman. Susman has been working at GVT since 2012, but she began her career as a student in the after-school program. Now, 17 years later, she is helping to bring Shakespeare into the 21st century. Adapting a production so well-known is a difficult task, but Susman was determined to keep the story relevant to a modern audience. The Associate Artistic Director chose to make Julius Caesar a woman and highlight one of the most important issues in today’s political climate. “I want audiences to be aware of gender roles in society, and how we might level the playing field,” Susman said. These changes came to Susman when she revisited the script. This was the perfect opportunity to show women to be equal to men, in both strengths and weaknesses. “Women can be fierce leaders of a society. It’s also important to note that corruption knows no bounds including gender, status, age and so on.” This program is presented with financial assistance from the WV Division of Arts, Culture & History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts.
