Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 108

criticism of “Trump as Caesar,” the Minneapolis production drew no such
response, even though, ironically, Delta was among its sponsors (Pallotta
����). It is tempting to credit the empathic power of theater with the uproar
over Eustis’s Julius Caesar, but that does not appear to be the case since
the critics do not understand the basic premise of the play. What is clear
is that the potential of theater to move people remains strong. Would tha
that potential could be used toward positive ends, as the cast of Hamilton
suggested to Vice President Pence (QR Code �), rather to inflame divisions
as has happened with Julius Caesar.
From ancient Greece to today, theater has spoken truth to power and
confronted society and its leaders with the consequences of their actions
Oskar Eustis, Reem Al Sayyeh, Athol Fugard, Euripides, and Phyrnichus al
sought a kind of “radical empathy.” They did not want what happened on
the stage to stay on the stage. They wanted it to resonate with the audience
haunt the audience, and become indelibly part of each audience member’s
political consciousness.
Syria: Trojan Women Summit
URL: http://bit.ly/2sMZQ2m
Conclusion
Theater’s empathetic power was recognized and even feared in ancien
Athens, where it played a critical role in the fledgling democracy. Meineck
(����) advocates the importance of the live communal experience of theatre
for the health of American democracy today for precisely the same reasons
it mattered in Athens: theater presents multiple different perspectives; i
engenders empathy, a key component of responsible decision-making; and
it provides a live, shared experience that reinforces the sense of community
Theater provided the Athenians exactly what is missing today in politica
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