Entertainment Moviefone Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors Michael Giltz Freelance writer Subscribe 2GET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Follow Theater , Public Theater , Off-Broadway , Shakespeare , William Shakespeare , Entertainment News 1 7 1 0React Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: Titus Andronicus as Bloody and Boring as Ever TITUS ANDRONICUS * 1/2 out of **** PUBLIC THEATER Whenever a company produces one of William Shakespeare's lesser plays, you can be forgiven for thinking, "Thank goodness!" Not another Lear right on top of the last one or the umpteenth Midsummer Night'sDream.</p><p> Yes, let's tackle Titus and see what we can do with it! Unfortunately, then you actually see the play andremember why it is one of Shakespeare's lesser plays.</p><p> Whether it's the Julie Taymor film version or the numerous other productions from the past, I've neverseen a satisfying Titus .</p><p> Director Michael Sexton's messy, confused production is sadly no exception.</p><p> Most of thetech work is indifferent or bad, but the scenery design byBrett J.</p><p> Banakis is the central conceit.</p><p> It involves essentially a stack of lumber some four feet high that provides a platform for people to stand on anddeclaim.</p><p> OK, interesting enough and as they ceremonially remove the top few pieces of lumber to serveas grave markers for the dead, you can see intriguing possibilities as the stack of lumber shrinks and thebodies proliferate.</p><p> But nothing is made of this and in fact it's soon abandoned in a way when they pull out saw horses and use lumber to create other, quite unnecessary platforms in front of the original one.</p><p> Why? Soon, the stageis littered with lumber tossed here and there, some of them covered with uninteresting drawings (like asword or a crown or the word "rape") that have no impact whatsoever.</p><p> One cannot however accuse themof not going for broke.</p><p> By the end of the show, cast members trudge on stage with buckets of blood, tossthem at other actors and then trudge off again, creating an unholy mess and some unintentional laughter.Rarely has the detritus of war been presented so completely.</p><p> MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 Isaac Balloons Into A Hurricane, New Orleans Threatened Limbaugh's Wild Isaac Conspiracy FOLLOW USCelebrity TV Political Hollywood Features Hollywood Buzz Videos Help Us Write 'The Words' Quick Read | Comments (26) | 08.20.2012August 29, 2012 Edition: U.S.</p><p> John Hillcoat Sen.</p><p> Ben Cardin Harry Shearer Jeffrey SachsHOT ON THE BLOG Posted: 12/13/11 10:06 PM ET SHARE THIS STORY Submit this storyGet Entertainment Alerts Sign UpSPONSOR GENERATED POST Recommend 644 Like 6k Electronic Dance Music Political Hollywood The Avengers One Direction Armchair Detective More Log in Create AccountIt's all in the service of Titus (Jay O.</p><p> Sanders), a triumphant warrior who shows no mercy to the Queen of the Goths Tamora (Stephanie Roth Haberle) and then expects her to show mercy to him.</p><p> Similarly, Titusturns down the love of the people -- who want him as Emperor of Rome -- and throws his weight behindthe petulant Saturninus (Jacob Fishel) in a feud and then expects Saturninus to appreciate his loyaltyrather than resent Titus for having such power over his fate in the first place.</p><p> Titus is a better warriorthan politician.</p><p> Everyone is soon chopping and raping and cooking up everyone else from Titus's daughter Lavinia (Jennifer Ikeda), who is raped by Tamora's boorish sons, to those very same sons being roasted and served up by Titus in revenge.</p><p> When a play doesn't work, one raises silly questions.</p><p> To wit, when Lavinia has her arms chopped off and her tongue cut out, why doesn't Titus ask her to simply nod yes or no while he lists the likely villains? ("Is it someone we know? Is it Saturninus? Is it...?") Again, one lays the blame squarely on Shakespeare but Sexton is all over the map here and fails to deliver a coherent production.</p><p> The nicest thing one can do is rescue what we can from the gore.</p><p> Sanders is a very good actor and delivers a credible Titus, given the circumstances.</p><p> Titus isn't very interesting, but that isn't his fault and the scene where Sanders moans a death rattle of pain and woe isquite effective.</p><p> Ikeda as Lavinia acquits herself nicely when she pleads for mercy from her rapists,though she is as lost as everyone else in the later scenes.</p><p> Best of all is Ron Cephas Jones as Aaron, a Moor and the lover of Tamora.</p><p> Aaron is a villain here and Jones doesn't try to soften or explain Aaron's behavior as a balance to the hateful comments of those who despise him.</p><p> Instead, he relishes creating a full-blooded, complex character that pleases his Queen,maneuvers intelligently when a crisis occurs and does everything in his considerable power to protect hisnew born child.</p><p> And he has fun doing it.</p><p> Even at his most confused, Shakespeare can offer someredeeming element.</p><p> The same can be said for this roll of the dice production that came up craps on mosteverything but Jones.</p><p> The Theater Season 2011-2012 (on a four star scale)The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs ** 1/2 All-American ** All's Well That Ends Well/Shakespeare in the Park ** The Atmosphere Of Memory 1/2 * Bonnie & Clyde feature profile of Jeremy Jordan Broadway By The Year: 1997 ** 1/2 The Cherry Orchard with Dianne Wiest ** Chinglish * 1/2 Crane Story ** Cymbeline at Barrow Street Theatre *** An Evening With Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin *** Follies *** 1/2 Fragments *** Godspell ** 1/2 MAP: Hurricane Isaac's Path Aims For Gulf Coast GOP Candidate Compares Pregnancy From Rape To What? 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