Photo Flash: RLTP Presents ANTONY & CLEOPATRA

A Shakespearean tragedy not seen in Buffalo in over half a century will finally see the footlights in a new production at the Road Less Traveled Theater. Road Less Traveled Productions will raise the curtain on William Shakespeare's Antony & Cleopatra on Friday, October 22, in a new adaptation by RLTP Resident Playwright Jon Elston. The show will run through Sunday, November 14.

When military hero Mark Antony meets the beautiful Queen of Egypt, the sparks of their attraction ignite a tempestuous affair of legendary proportions. The affair puts them at odds with Octavius Caesar, Antony's possessive partner in the triumvirate and threatens to destroy the entire Roman Empire. Written by Shakespeare in the first decade of the 17th Century, Antony & Cleopatra continues to follow the progress of Antony and Caesar, allies in Shakespeare's earlier Julius Caesar but now passionate opponents in this follow-up. RLTP's production will star 2010 Artie Award winners Dan Walker and Kelly Meg Brennan as the eponymous couple and Nathan Winkelstein as young Caesar, supported by Jay Pichardo, Rolando Gomez, Sarielys Matos, Diane Curley, Xavier Harris, Barry Williams, and Peter Jaskowiak, under the direction of RLTP Artistic Director Scott Behrend.

"It's almost incredible that Antony & Cleopatra has gone unproduced on a professionAl Western New York stage since at least the first half of the 20th Century..." Behrend marveled, "...Especially when you consider the popularity of the ubiquitous old chestnut, Julius Caesar. It's been too long. This is a show that Buffalonians should be able to see and enjoy."

Although reviving such a rare play might inspire a conservative approach from some theatre companies, Behrend assured that his production would maintain RLTP's well-established tone of offbeat invention.

"I tasked Jon Elston with adapting Shakespeare's text from a sprawling, thirty-two character epic that usually stretches to well-near four hours when produced into something that could be performed by ten actors in a little over half the time. But instead of merely hacking out entire scenes and large chunks of dialogue," said Behrend, "Jon has taken a much more out-of-the-box approach, recontextualizing some of the chronology and characters, but retaining a startling amount of the original text."

"The result is a new version of a classic play that is streamlined for urgency, clarity, and drama, but remains extremely loyal to Shakespeare's language and his intentions."

Elston himself volunteered that the cast would be "focusing on interpreting Shakespeare's dialogue in a clear and thorough fashion". To that end, his adaptation has liberated that dialogue from the meter that Shakespeare's work is usually recited in. "Audiences should expect to hear something that sounds very different from classic Shakespearean delivery; the words will be the same, but the performance style is going to be much closer to what we recognize as modern realism."

"The goal," Elston continued, "is to engage audiences that may normally find Shakespeare difficult to digest, but also to demonstrate to Shakespeare devotees that this play translates marvelously to a contemporary context."

"Obsession, intrigue, valor, betrayal, tragic love... it's a true classic." Behrend paused, then added enthusiastically, "But it's going to feel like a world premiere."

William Shakespeare 1564-1616 is the legendary author of thirty-eight extremely popular plays produced in heavy rotation during the past 400 years.

Jon Elston founded Road Less Traveled Productions w/ Scott Behrend and is currently the Literary Director and Resident Playwright of RLTP. Seven of his plays - ProJect, Interrogation Room winner of the 2004 Artie Award for Best New Play and the 2003 Source Theater National Literary Prize, Private Viewing, The Peddler's Bones, Buffalo Movie, Triangles: The Elliptical, and American Deal with Tom Naples - have been produced by Road Less Traveled Productions.
The Road Less Traveled Theater is located at: 639 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14205 inside the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre. Shows are Thursday - Saturday at 7:30PM and Sunday at 2:00PM. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-745-3000, at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Shea's box office.