Feore will play Brutus' co-conspirator Cassius, and Hecht will play Brutus' wife, Portia. Hecht was last seen on Broadway in After the Fall at the Roundabout Theatre Company. Her many other stage credits include Stop Kiss, Lobster Alice and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Feore, who has done much work at the Stratford Festival in Canada, was last seen on the New York stage as Claudius opposite Liev Schreiber in Hamlet. His numerous films include "Chicago" and "Pearl Harbor."
As previously reported, William Sadler, the oft-employed character actor of the cinema, will play the title role.
The production will open April 3, 2005, after previews from March 8. The Belasco is the theatre.
No casting beyond Washington has been officially announced.
The 54-year-old Sadler has played supporting roles in such high-profile films as "The Green Mile," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Die Hard II" and the current "Kinsey." He had also had roles in the television series "Roswell," "Roseanne" and " Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." He began his career in the New York theatre and plays Sgt. Toomey in the Broadway premiere of Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues. He won a 1981 Obie Award for his work in Len Jenkins' Limbo Tales. Other Off-Broadway credits include Cloud Nine and Lennon. Daniel Sullivan (Proof), a director not typically associated with the Bard, will stage the political tragedy.
The production will be produced by Carole Shorenstein Hays and Freddy DeMann.
The Julius Caesar design staff will include Ralph Funicello (set design), Jess Goldstein (costume design), Mimi Jordan Sherin (lighting design) and Dan Moses Schreier (sound design).
Washington, 49, earned Oscars for his turns in the films "Training Day" and "Glory." The actor is also known for his work in "Philadelphia," "Malcolm X," "The Hurricane," "The Manchurian Candidate" and his recent directorial debut, "Antwone Fisher." Washington last appeared on Broadway in 1988's Checkmates.
Director Sullivan staged this season's Sight Unseen and is currently slated to helm two other upcoming Manhattan Theatre Club productions: Brooklyn Boy and After the Night and the Music.
Julius Caesar hasn't been seen on Broadway since 1950. It was recently produced in Central Park by the Public Theater, with a cast including Jeffrey Wright.
