Are you ready to see what happens when Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” meets the music of the 1980s WILD BOYS, Duran Duran? Then you won’t want to miss the Troubadour Theater Company’s latest world premiere musical comedy, DURAN DURANTONY & CLEOPATRA. With musical direction by Ryan Whyman and adaptation and direction by Matt Walker, DURAN DURANTONY & CLEOPATRA comes to the Colony Theatre in 2024.
Suzanne Jolie Narbonne, Cloie Wyatt Taylor, and Katie Kitani – Photo by Eddy Will
The Troubadour Theater Company is a free-wheeling, no holds barred, Commedia Del Arte slapstick Los Angeles-based ensemble of actors, musicians, and comedians which has performed for audiences all over Southern California and beyond since 1995. Their laugh-filled loose (very loose) adaptation of classical material meeting pop culture is unique and will blow your mind. It’s one of those shows where the cast has as much fun as the audience, with the current mad hatters including Beth Kennedy, Rick Batalla, Mike Sulprizio, Cloie Wyatt Taylor, John Paul Batista, Ktie Kitani, Mark McCracken, Philip McNiven, Suzanne Jolie, and Matt Walker.
Rick Batalla and Matt Walker – Photo by Eddy Will
Audiences are probably well aware of the torrid love affair between Antony and Cleopatra (if for no other reason than that famous film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). But when the Troubies get hold of Shakespearean tragedy, get ready for a very different view of events. The Soothsayer (Mark McCracken) is on board with predictions, but he’s playing it close to the vest – even if we all know how that love affair worked out. Antony (Matt Walker) is enamored of Cleopatra (Cloie Wyatt Taylor), undoubtedly the sexiest Queen ever to grace the Land of the Pharaohs. But politics is politics, so when his wife dies and he gets the chance to wed Octavia (Philip McNiven), the buxom sister of Octavius Caesar (Rick Batalla), Antony can’t say no. And then there’s the war, but that’s another tale. Suffice it to say that the Troubies give a hilarious shake-up to Shakespeare’s classic. So maybe automatic weapons weren’t invented in old Rome (at the Getty Villa, no less) – but who cares?
Cloie Wyatt Taylor and Mark McCracken – Photo by Eddy Will
As always, the production team goes overboard in setting the scene and outfitting the participants with costumes originally designed by Sharon McGunigle and wig design and costumer Suzanne Narbonne’s creative touch. The Troubadorchestra (musical director Ryan Whyman on piano, Kevin Stevens on drums, Carlos Rivera on bass, and Mike Abraham on guitar) is on hand keeping the music coming. And let’s not forget lighting by Bo Tindell and sound by Robert Arturo Ramirez, without whom we’d all be in the dark, a very quiet dark.
DURAN DURANTONY & CLEOPATRA Poster Art – Photo by Eddy Will
DURAN DURANTONY & CLEOPATRA will delight the Troubies’ faithful fans and any newbies who’ve come along to sample the uproarious goings-on at the Colony. It will also send folks who love comedy into paroxysms of laughter throughout. As a mix of scripted and unscripted, we’re never sure just how long with show will turn out – but don’t worry. There is an intermission.
DURAN DURANTONY & CLEOPATRA runs through June 16, 2024, with performances at 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sundays. The Colony Theatre is located at 555 N. Third Street, Burbank, CA. Tickets range from $55 to $60. For information and reservations, call 818-558-7000 or go online.
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