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“I love saying ‘friends, Romans, countrymen.’ It gives me a thrill,” said Olivia Schanbacher, who will portray Marc Antony April 22 through April 25 in the Wilkes University production of “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.”

Despite the thrill of reciting some of Shakespeare’s most famous lines, Schanbacher has an unusual take on the character she portrays.

“He would say that he is (a hero),” she said before a recent rehearsal. “But in modern terms he represents the faux woke.”

If you need an explanation for that relatively recent term, “faux” means “fake” and “woke” means “alert to injustice in society, particularly racism.”

In the Wilkes production, Caesar and his entire army — except for Marc Antony — are Black.

Brutus and his entire army are white.

So when you watch the show with modern eyes, you sense nuances of racial tensions that could have been plucked from today’s national headlines.

And you might consider Marc Antony to be “a fake white ally,” as cast member Aariyana Gould described him. “It’s like white people taking over a movement not originally made for them.”

Explaining why she sees Marc Antony as a hypocrite, Schanbacher explained, “He sees a Black woman get killed and doesn’t do anything until after the fact.”

The Black woman who gets killed, incidentally, would be Julius Caesar, who is portrayed in this production by Brianna Rowland.

Rowland — who appeared earlier this semester in a very different role in a Wilkes University 1920s-era musical that called for her to swing on a chandelier — takes a dim view of Caesar.

“They make him out to be a great person, but he doesn’t really know what’s going on,” she said. “I don’t hate him or anything, but he’s more of a follower than an actual leader.”

You might feel sorry for Caesar, knowing he’s doomed, hearing him scoff at the soothsayer who warns him to “beware the Ides of March,” and disregard the warning of his wife, Calpurnia.

“You find out, Calpurnia was right all along,” said Jayna Johnson, who plays that role. “All she wanted was for Caesar to stay home. She basically saw the future, but it just wasn’t enough. It’s very sad to see how it all plays out.”

And, you might feel sympathy for Brutus, who gets talked into helping with the assassination.

“He’s not 100 percent sure of himself,” said Alex Booth, who has that role. “He just wants to do the right thing by his country. Sometimes that patriotism comes to a fault.”

But one character who will win everyone’s heart, the cast pointed out almost in unison, is Cinna the Poet. Sami Uggla, who has that role, said Cinna the Poet us an innocent bystander killed by a mob because she has the same name as Cinna the Conspirator.

Wilkes’ theatre department originally intended to present “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” in March 2020, but the show was canceled because of COVID.

“At first we thought we’d be back in two weeks,” Rylee Gaskill said, explaining how disappointed the young thespians were. “It wasn’t fun.”

Now they’re back, and eager to put on the show for a limited audience at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center — at 8 p.m. April 22, April 23 and April 24 and 2 p.m. April 24 and April 25.

As the cast began a recent rehearsal, director Joe Dawson reminded them to put extra effort into projecting their voices through their masks.

“Over-articulate tonight like crazy,” he said.

With a plot that includes conspiracy, assassination and danger everywhere, he reminded them, nothing about the story is nonchalant.

“The stakes are high in this play,” he said. “None of it can sound like ‘let’s have a pick-up game in the parking lot.’ “

Wilkes University presents ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’