When: Sundays, 2 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m. and Thu., Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m. Continues through Aug. 14 2016
William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is less about the assassination of Rome's great man than about the men who commit the murder. Caesar has many enemies in the senate, all of whom fear he will use his popularity with the common man to become a tyrant. (Anyone else getting a weird, deja vu type feeling? No?) These conspirators eventually convert Julius' good friend Brutus to their cause by getting inside his head. Brutus makes the decision to kill not because of anything Caesar has done, but because of what he might do. Is Brutus a patriot, or a man consumed by unproven fears? It's this big question that will be answered in St. Louis Shakespeare's season-opening production of Julius Caesar. The drama is performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday (August 5 to 14) at the Ivory Theater (7620 Michigan Avenue; www.stlshakespeare.org). There is one 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, August 11. Tickets are $15 to $20.