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A free evening of Shakespeare, law and politics at Wang Center on May 31

Issue April 2006

The Federalist Society, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and the Massachusetts Bar Association invite you to a thought-provoking and fun evening of Shakespeare, law and politics at Boston's premiere theater, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, 270 Tremont St., Boston.

On Wednesday, May 31, the Federalist Society and Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will host their seventh annual Shakespeare and the Law program, featuring a one-hour staged reading of "Julius Caesar," followed by a discussion of Caesar, Bush and the limits of executive power.

The event, hosted by former U.S. Attorney Dick Thornburgh and moderated by FOX News's Megyn Kendall, features Boston's best and brightest in the legal world performing key scenes from Shakespeare's classic depiction of the abuse of executive power, political assassination and intrigue.

Participants include federal judge Douglas Woodlock as Brutus, former U.S. Attorney Wayne Budd as Caesar, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Judy Cowin as Calpurnia, federal judge Rya Zobel as Marc Antony, the Federalist Society's Boston Chair Dan Kelly as Cassius, and Lawyers Weekly 2005 Lawyers of the Year Barry Pollack and Gloria Larson as Octavius and Portia. The staged reading will be directed by Steven Maler, founding artistic director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and resident director at the Wang Center.

Other participants include federal judges Dennis Saylor, George O'Toole, Nathaniel Gorton and Patti Saris, Wilmer Hale managing partner Bill Lee, Ropes & Gray managing partner John Montgomery, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Publisher David Yas, First Amendment lawyer Harvey Silverglate and U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Jennifer Braceras.

The discussion following the play will be led by Harvard University's Dr. Harvey Mansfield, the noted professor of government and recent author of "Manliness," and Juliette Kayyem of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and national security analyst for NBC News.

The event begins at 5 p.m., is free and open to the public.