Interpreting Shakespeare’s goriest play as a musical comedy is a stretch, even in an era renowned for idiosyncratic Shakespeare stagings in samurai mufti or deep space. Not only do these Colorado College alumni accomplish this admirably, but they manage so successfully that this marks the fourth time that their Buntport Theater company has mounted it.

“People seem to like it,” said Erin Rollman, who plays both Titus’ brother, Marcus, and his nemesis, the vengeful Goth queen Tamora.

Tickets to the current production began selling months ago, when rumors spread that “Titus Andronicus!” would be remounted for the final time. Earlier productions routinely sold out, disappointing latecomers who thought they could show up without reservations. Several book clubs already bought blocks of tickets as an alternative to hosting a holiday party.

“Nothing like baking children into pies for holiday cheer,” observed Brian Colonna, referring to a particularly grisly scene that rigorously interprets the adage about revenge being a dish best served cold.

Turning a Shakespeare tragedy – particularly such a confusing and multiply flawed script that scholars debate whether Shakespeare actually wrote “Titus Andronicus” – into a musical comedy was an enormous leap, particularly for a young company.

The actors who formed Buntport all graduated from Colorado College, an elite liberal arts college that breeds unorthodox intellectuals, between 1998 and 2001. The Buntport crew is so devoutly collaborative that Denver Post critic John Moore once posited that the company “writes, directs, designs, acts, builds and probably showers as one.”

Their hallmark lies in distilling an often familiar story to its utter essence whilst plundering and frolicking with its beloved details, rather like Monty Python’s anarchist grandchildren.

The decision to present “Titus Andronicus” as a musical comedy emerged during a brainstorming session. Someone suggested that it would be funny to have Lavinia – a character whose tongue is cut out early in the play – sing an aria upon being dismembered.

“We were amused and mortified, which pretty much describes the usual audience reaction,” Rollman said.

“But it IS funny. It’s hard not to laugh.”

So they allowed the aria – a Britney Spears parody as vicious as it is visual – to set the show’s tone.

Since 2002, when they debuted their version of what they delightedly call “Shakespeare’s bloodiest play,” Buntport similarly dissected “Hamlet,” “Moby-Dick” “Macbeth” (as “Macblank,” referring to the theatrical superstition that forbids naming the play offstage), and “The Odyssey: A Walking Tour.”

The results are as reachable as they are illuminating, both conceptually and concretely. Those Elizabethan frocks are made from corduroy and denim pants acquired at the ARC thrift store on South Broadway. A car radio/ashtray and a gas can serve as two puppets. A hat on a stick becomes an appreciative listener.

“You end up with integrity when you stage a show you can afford,” Rollman said.

“It doesn’t take a big budget to put on a good show. We wink at the audience. We all know this forest is just a van. So let’s be in cahoots!”

-Claire Martin, December 2, 2007, Denver Post