Two different eras of politics, love and betrayal collided this week when The Acting Company presented William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and Marcus Gardley’s new play, “X,” about the assassination of Malcolm X, in Waterman Theater Monday and Tuesday.

Tickets for the play were sold to Oswego State students and members of the Oswego community. After seeing both productions, the correlation between the assassinations of Julius Ceasar and Malcolm X’s clear. They were delicately laid out for the viewers by playwrite Marcus Gardley.

Actress N’Jameh Camara who played Calpurnia, Cinna, and Lucilius in “Julius Caesar” and the Judge and the Secretary in “X,” compared the two plays in a question and answer session with theater students after the show.

“I never put together that they were like modern versions of these ancient Roman leaders” Camara said. “They put their lives on the line for movements they believed in. They walked the walk.”

Gardley wrote “X,” or “Betty Shabazz v. The Nation,” as a commission for The Acting Company knowing it was going to be presented back-to-back with Shakepeare’s “Julius Caesar.”

“What’s so great about Shakespeare is there is so much to learn in a single line, and it reminds me that there is so much you can do in a single scene,” Gardley said in an interview with Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

The performance of “X” that students witnessed on Tuesday night was packed with powerful and emotional scenes. Although it was not a musical, music and singing were used throughout the play occasionally to emphasize emotional scenes. At one point, when an attempt is made on Malcolm’s life, the cast launched into an artfully choreographed stomp dance and the talented actress Tatiana Wechsler sang a piece that sent chills up the audiences’ spines as they watched Malcolm fall to his knees.

The Acting Company is a touring repertory theatre founded in 1972 by legendary producer, director and actor John Houseman and previous producing director Margot Harley. It was developed to help members of the first graduating class of Juilliard’s Drama Division get experience acting in prestigious productions across the country. Since then, The Acting Company has performed more than 141 productions for over 3 million people in 48 states and 10 countries.

“They give young actors a shot to strengthen their muscles,” said actor Gabriel Lawrence. “It can be hard getting work right out of school, so I think that’s great.”

Lawrence played the lead role of Julius Caesar in “Julius Caesar” and Muhammad the First and FBI Agent in “X.”

Other Alumni of The Acting Company include Kevin Kline, Rainn Wilson, Patti LuPone, David Schramm, Jesse L. Martin, David Ogden Stiers, Frances Conroy, Jeffrey Wright, Harriet Harris, Hamish Linklater and Keith David.

“I started my acting career late and before graduation, one of my professors put up a list of theaters in high regard,” Lawrence said. “I looked up what they do and I auditioned. This is my second tour with them.”

The tour started in Phoenix, Arizona, and has since travelled to Kansas, Missouri and Maryland. They are now on their last set of performances in New York. After performing at Oswego State, they have performances scheduled at Le Moyne College. Their final set will be at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, on April 1 and 2.

The cast hopes this tour will help educate people on the history of the United States. They said they do not think the story of Malcolm X is taught sufficiently in most schools, as they focus more heavily on Martin Luther King Jr.

Set in a court room, the play shows flashbacks to pivotal points in Malcolm’s personal life and career, as each witness reveals another piece of the puzzle that led to Malcolm’s assassination.

The story of Malcolm X is not just one of a political figure’s rise and demise, but a love story and a story of family and duty. The play delves into Malcom’s life behind the scenes, his religious affiliations, his family drama and the love he had for his wife and kids.

“What I love about this play is it’s not a play that only black people will understand, it’s America,” said lead actress Chelsea Lee Williams, who played Betty in “X.”  “It’s about America and people. And it’s important for us to educate ourselves on our history as a people and a country.”