A 'Titus' that's overwrought Equal parts inspiration and overkill course across "Titus Andronicus." Shakespeare's grisly first tragedy gets a creatively twisted, Mussolini-era overhaul by the Porters of Hellsgate, a promising young company with a fine handle on iambic pentameter and rather more zeal than synthesis. "Titus' " title character (the ferocious Charles Pasternak) returns from a decade of war to a Rome in disarray after the emperor's death. Despite being the people's choice, as his brother (Jack Leahy) informs us, Titus declines the throne, deferring to Saturninus (Jonathon Bangle), the emperor's eldest son. Smartly using the multilevel, bare-bones space, director Natasha Vargas-Cooper draws neat current parallels. Power-mad Saturninus and Basianus (Patrick J. Saxon), his egalitarian brother, embody the red-blue divide. Titus and his sons, led by Lucius (Adam McCrory), drag out their captives -- Goth queen Tamora (Amanda Marquardt), her sons and archvillain Aaron the Moor (Eddie Castuera) -- in an Abu Ghraib-like tableau. After Titus sacrifices Tamora's eldest son, earning her undying enmity, and Lavinia (Taylor Fisher), Titus' daughter, rejects Saturninus for fiancé Basianus, the new emperor marries Tamora. An absurdly gory revenge saga follows. Vargas-Cooper and designers Daniel Keck (lighting) and Jessica Pasternak (costumes) are resourceful, from the beribboned approach to Lavinia's mutilation to the Tarantino-tinged comeuppance of Tamora's rapacious surviving offspring (Bryant Romo and Brandon Gilbrech). Yet the mix of humor and terror is erratic, and a tendency toward high-decibel attack impedes dramatic build. Even if one agrees with critic Harold Bloom that the ideal "Titus" director would be Mel Brooks, the thunderously overwrought declamation that too many members of the valiant cast display serves neither heightened tension nor irreverent laughter. Though it may well gain a cult following, "Titus Andronicus" is mainly a signpost for what

NORTH HOLLYWOOD – Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare's earliest tragedy. Titus has central themes of revenge, duplicity and madness that give the resulting violence and depravity an emotional core. This is a family afflicted with vengeance that is never quenched. The Roman aristocracy is so bound to their laws that they fail to see reproach and venom that fills their collective soul … wounds that never heal. By setting the action in 1930s fascist Italy, it gives the audience a modern reference to a totalitarian state. Titus is a Roman general who has returned from years of fighting the Goths. He is a hero who has captured the royal family of his enemy. Years away from state and politics have weakened his intellect. He makes crucial errors of judgment that will lead to his downfall. The Romans have also relied on their expertise and logic that the Goths more primal desires undo the empirical hierarchy. Director Natasha Vargas-Cooper uses the limited space of the stage as strength by bold use of blocking. The production breathes by her gift of letting the script command the rhythm of the performances. Charles Pasternak as the title role was very commandeering, but at times a bit forced. Adam McCrory as Lucius gave a natural credence to the role. Amanda Marquardt as Tamora had a compelling physical presence, but needs for us to feel her seething rage. Though not one of his well-known tragedies, Titus is still a visceral piece. It is violent and disturbing, which makes for great melodrama. Some extra backdrops would have filled in the stage with an even stronger effect. Ironically, the language is easy to follow; the images from spiteful revenge will leave some a bit uneasy. Recommended. Titus Andronicus performs at the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center, 11006 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood through Sept. 9. For tickets: (310) 804-1759 or visit www.myspace.com/theportersofhellsgate.

Titus Andronicus August 22, 2007 By Jeff Favre It's one thing to freely adapt Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedy into a child-friendly comedy -- see the Titus the Clownicus review in this section -- but it's another to find humor in the original violent text. The Porters of Hellsgate, a relatively new and youthful company dedicated to the works of Shakespeare, takes one of the Bard's weaker plays to the emotional extreme, attempting to elicit absurdist humor from murder, rape, and torture. The result is uneven. Charles Pasternak's lead performance is impressive, but the rest of the cast is unable to realize the unusual vision of director Natasha Vargas-Cooper. Still, given the young age of the cast of more than a dozen, this is a mature, easily accessible version of a flawed classic. In this Roman tragedy, which has been reset in 1930s fascist Italy, the hero is soldier Titus (Pasternak), whose postwar actions toward the Goths, in particular Queen Tamora (Amanda Marquardt), sets in motion a seemingly endless barrage of betrayals. Though the first few scenes are subdued, the pacing quickens with the rape and mutilation of Titus' daughter, Lavinia (Taylor Fisher), by Tamora's sons, Demetrius (Bryant Romo) and Chiron (Brandon Gilbrech). As with any good political drama, poor leadership is the cause of much woe, which comes thanks to the emperor Saturninus (Jonathon Bangle). Pasternak ably transforms Titus from Charlton Heston-like conqueror to wild and barely sane. His transition appropriately coincides with the strange scene in which a then-handless Lavinia clutches her father's severed hand in her mouth. Fisher's performance also displays traits of absurdist humor. But the remaining cast, in particular Bangle as the emperor, continues with the same straightforward, dramatic portrayal. This strange mix of acting styles and uneven tone fails to deliver the macabre humor that Vargas-Cooper seemingly intended. There is no set, but Jessica Pasternak's costumes serviceabl

TITUS ANDRONICUS If you thought today's slasher movies were gruesome, get a load of this rarely performed Shakespeare classic, thought to be one of the Bard's earliest tragedies, and generally regarded as historically fascinating literary crap. Natasha Vargas-Cooper's sturdy direction comes with requisite dark humor applied to this loud, long gore fest relocated from ancient Rome to 1930s Italy under the fascists. General Titus Andronicus (Charles Pasternak) returns after a decade of war with the Goths and brings as prisoners their vanquished queen, Tamora (Amanda Marquardt), her lover, Aaron the Moor (Eddie Castuera), and her three sons. Having lost 21 of 25 sons in battle, Titus sacrifices one of Tamora's sons as restitution, setting in motion plots and counterplots that draw more blood than a Michael Vick dog fight. There are also allusions to our current political climate, with noble Basianus (Patrick J. Saxon), son of the recently deceased emperor, and his cohorts sporting blue ties and cloaks, while his vindictive brother and rival for the throne, Saturninus (Jonathon Bangle), along with his pals, are partial to red. Poor old Titus descends into madness as the dead bodies mount, including those of his own progeny. While the spray-on gray in 20-something Pasternak's hair does not convince one of Titus' maturity, the stentorian tone of his line deliveries does. Porters of Hellgate at the WHITMORE-LINDLEY THEATER CENTER, 11006 Magnolia Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m.; thru Sept. 9. (310) 804-1759. (Martín Hernández)