What would summer in Balboa Park be without the Bard’s words echoing through the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre? This season, the Old Globe presents Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar on its outdoor stage; its time-tested prose reminds us once again that Shakespeare’s unique gift of words and ideas live on through the ages. All one has to do is replace the names of Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus with any number of ambitious politicians throughout history and the story reads remarkably the same — especially today.

Tragically, since Shakespeare first penned this historic drama (1599), the world has chosen to ignore the lessons learned by the likes of Brutus, Cassius and Julius Caesar. That today’s world leaders commit the same political faux pas over and over again shows that we are undoubtedly slow learners.

Since grade school, when many of us had our first introduction to Shakespeare and were forced by some English professor to read Julius Caesar, we have had ample opportunity to see this drama played out many times over in our lives.

Nevertheless, the current production, vividly designed by Ralph Funicello as a kind of rough map of the near future, provides an entertaining spectacle, both visually and dramatically. Headed by a stellar cast of performers in the leading roles (Robin Gammell as Julius Caesar, Andrew McGinn as Octavius Caesar, Robert Foxworth as Brutus and Joel Polis as Cassius), the production is played in modern attire (suits and ties and 21st century military garb). The update in time is further underscored by cabinet members entering their chambers through a security checkpoint.

As your English professor may have pointed out, this historical drama involves the juxtaposition of tyranny vs. freedom, optimism vs. pessimism, and democracy vs. dictatorship. Within the play, the audience observes the tragic character of Brutus fighting an internal struggle that pits his friendship and loyalty to Julius Caesar against the overall good of the state. Perhaps with a little bit of psychotherapy Brutus would not have had to ask his servant to push a dagger through his heart and end his life.

Nicely balanced with the familiar words and phrases (Beware, the ides of March; He has a mean and hungry look; Brutus, thou art noble), this Shakespearean play is a more comfortable fit in modern garb than others. On the other hand, it is doubly challenging when an actor must bring to life such familiar lines like “Friends, Romans, countrymen…,” but Michael Reed rose to the occasion, infusing his political eulogy of Julius Caesar in the role of Mark Anthony with a dramatic twist. The roles of both Portia (Caitlin O’Connell) and Calpurnia (Kandis Chappell), wives of Brutus and Caesar respectively, have suffered with the passage of time. Both of these women’s roles depict the impotent position of the 17th century politician’s wife, representing but a shadow of the male figures in the drama, now so markedly dated that titters were heard while Portia recited a few of her lines.

But if it’s Shakespeare in the park you want, Julius Caesar will provide you with a delightful fix. Sit back under the stars, bring a shawl and place it over your shoulders, listen to the timeless words of Shakespeare and take heed that, “His life was gentle and the elements so mixed him that nature might stand up and say to all the world, ‘This was a man!’”

Julius Caesar runs through Aug. 10 at The Old Globe Theatre. Call (619) 239-2255 for tickets or more information.