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The Last Days of Cleopatra

nytheatre.com review by Charles Battersby
August 15, 2005

Fox's epic motion picture Cleopatra cost $35,000,000 to make back in 1963, and nearly bankrupted the studio. Its legacy is a five-hour Director's Cut, five Academy Awards, a "Best Picture" nomination, and the first marriage of Liz Taylor & Richard Burton.Liz & Dick met while she was playing Cleopatra and he was Marcus Antonius. This behind-the-scenes love affair is the subject of Charlie Barnett's new musical The Last Days of Cleopatra. The show takes place entirely in Rome, during the film's production, giving a very small slice of the Taylor & Burton epic romance. This is fine, since the audience probably knows the Liz & Dick story, and the tale of them falling in love for the first time makes a good romantic comedy.Barnett's book tells the story with wit and drama, plus a heapin' dose of old-fashion Hollywood style; not to mention some show biz humor, such as a choreographer telling the director, "We can't shoot the dancers—at least not with a camera."Barnett also wrote the music and lyrics, creating some big show-tuney numbers, plus a few funny soft shoe songs. There’s a lot of variety in the styles of music used; since it’s in Rome, there’s even a ballad that’s mostly in Italian. At times the voices in the company aren’t quite what they could be, but the principal players are all on target.The cast are playing screen legends here, but there seems to be a deliberate directorial choice to avoid doing impressions. Michael Deleget’s booming theatrical voice isn’t a dead ringer for Burton’s, but he certainly does a great job of showing Burton’s arrogance, and occasional hangovers. Anna Roberts isn’t trying to be a Liz Taylor doppleganger either, but she definitely is a slinky screen siren and seductress.The production values are lavish for an off-off Broadway show. Director Christopher Gerken's set is strewn with Roman finery; and Georgette Feldman's costumes not only represent 1960's Rome, but also Hollywood's vision of first century B.C. Egypt and Rome. There’s also plenty of eye candy in the form of scantily clad chorus girls, and loinclothed slave boys too.The show has a couple of asps lurking among its figs, though. There's a few subplots going on when Liz and Dick aren't onstage; one is about an Italian huckster trying to leech off of the film company, and another is about a pair of young lovers (a script boy and a chorus girl). The young lover plot thread does seem like something from the golden age of Hollywood, but these subplots are still a bit superfluous, given the show's glamorous main story, and it's healthy two-hour running-time. These are but minor quibbles, and The Last Days of Cleopatra remains an entertaining show, even for folk who aren’t big fans of Elizabeth Taylor, and it’s certainly a must-see for those who appreciate Hollywood epics, and the people who made them.