'Julius Caesar' makes play on American politics

Some of this disconnection is just mildly distracting, as when Brutus refers to Lucius playing his instrument while the boy does nothing of the kind. (This musical interlude, like many others, is left to a charming but incongruous jazz trio, in this case crooning ‘‘Suicide Is Painless,’’ better known as the theme from ‘‘M*A*S*H.’’) But sometimes it’s more damaging: The actors often face out at us to deliver speeches that are clearly meant to engage them in intimate, eye-to-eye exchange. Thus when Cassius and Brutus say farewell for what they know may be forever, they don’t even look at each other.