Cato
Tickets and Information

OVERVIEW TICKETS SCHEDULE CAST PHOTOS VIDEO

SHOW INFORMATION

This show has not yet been rated.

CURRENTLY CLOSED
Opened Oct 10, 2008
Closed Nov 2, 2008

Playing at
The Flea Theater

Directions & Map

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Andre De Shields stars in Cato, by Joseph Addison, directed by Jim Simpson. The play
premiered on April 14, 1713 and went on to become one of the most popular English plays of that period.

This 5-act play tells the story of Cato the younger (95-46 B.C.), a Roman Statesman who took sides with Pompey in an unsuccessful civil war against Julius Caesar. The play takes place in the city of Utica, where Cato and a small Roman Senate stand ready to defend the last vestige of the Roman Republic againts Caesar.

The play was a favorite of George Washington who had it performed for his troops at Valley Forge despite a Congressional Resolution that plays were harmful to Republican virtue. Washington included lines from the play in his private correspondence and even in his farewell address.

THEATER/VENUE INFORMATION:

The Flea Theater
41 White St
New York, NY 10013

The Flea Theatre is home of the Bat Theater Company.

WHAT ARE CRITICS SAYING?

The American revolutionaries who so prized Joseph Addison's 1713 play
Cato, now getting a rare and welcome revival at the Flea Theater, were no doubt better versed in Roman history than us less literate moderns. Not to worry: In director Jim Simpson's pared-down production the saga all but tells itself -- and it's riveting.

Addison may have employed the high-flying language and metered verse popular in his day, but he also managed to shake up dry history by commingling the political and personal arenas. Even as the fugitive senator Cato (André De Shields), a Stoic of legendary probity, boldly strives to hold the line as Caesar expands his power grab into North Africa, younger memb[...]

» Read More

Reviewed by Sandy MacDonald on Oct 20, 2008