Public Theater’s controversial Shakespeare in the Park production of “Julius Caesar” may be over, but the drama has continued off stage as police investigate a threatening phone call made to the director’s wife earlier this month.
Artistic director Oskar Eustis’ wife, Laurie Eustis, filed a complaint with police in Brooklyn on June 9, detailing a terrifying phone call, an NYPD spokesman said Thursday.
Eustis told police the caller mentioned that because her husband wants President Donald Trump to die — a reference to his play’s Trump-like Julius Caesar character who is assassinated — then the caller wanted her to die.
Eustis’ adaptation of the play garnered more attention than usual for a Shakespeare in the Park production. Many Trump supporters expressed outrage, saying the show could incite political violence.
While the controversy resulted in a higher demand for tickets in its final week, it also led to a number of performance disruptions during its four-week run. Two men were charged on Sunday after disrupting the play’s final showing at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, police said.
Two corporate sponsors, Delta Air Lines and Bank of America, also pulled their support of Public Theater amid the backlash.
