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Delta Air Lines and Bank of America have pulled financial support for the Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar in New York over its Donald Trump-like portrayal of the assassinated Roman leader.
The contemporary staging of William Shakespeare's tragedy, which is being staged by the non-profit Public Theatre, portrays Caesar as a powerful, blond-haired man wearing a business suit with an American flag pin.
His wife, Calpurnia, has a Slavic accent and dresses in designer fashions.
Delta said in a statement that it was ending its four-year run as official airline of the Public Theatre.
"No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer's Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines' values," it said on Twitter.
"Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste."
Shakespeare's play focuses on the fatal stabbing of Caesar by former associates, and the subsequent fate of democratic institutions.
But the non-profit's production has faced sharp criticism online after Fox News reported that it "appears to depict President Trump being brutally stabbed to death by women and minorities".
Julius Caesar production intended to 'provoke', 'offend'
Bank of America, which has sponsored Shakespeare in the Park for 11 years, is also withdrawing funding for Julius Caesar, a bank spokeswoman said.
The bank did not address whether it would keep supporting other Shakespeare in the Park productions.
The Public Theatre chose to present Julius Caesar "in a way that was intended to provoke and offend".
"Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it," the spokeswoman added.
The Public Theatre and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Roman ruler a 'dead ringer' for Trump
But the production, which opened May 23 in previews and runs through June 18 at Central Park's Delacorte Theatre, has its defenders.
Author Joyce Carol Oates wrote on Twitter that "Delta should not be interfering in a theatre's presentations".
In announcing the production in Manhattan's Central Park earlier this year, the Public Theatre said the play had "never felt more contemporary".
They described the Roman leader as "magnetic, populist, irreverent, he seems bent on absolute power".
The New York Times review on Friday said the "depiction of a petulant, blondish Caesar in a blue suit, complete with gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife, takes onstage Trump-trolling to a startling new level".
New York's Daily News said the production "imagines the Roman ruler as a blond, swaggering, egotist who's a dead ringer for the current occupant of the Oval Office".
"And he gets murdered for his hubris and hunger for power," it said.
Reuters/ABC
Topics: government-and-politics, donald-trump, theatre, arts-and-entertainment, community-and-society, united-states