By Andrew Gans
21 Jul 2005

The Last Days of Cleopatra, part of the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival, will be presented Aug. 23-28 at The Players Theatre.

Written by Charlie Barnett, the new musical concerns the affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton that began on the set of the sixties film "Cleopatra." Directed by Christopher Gerken, The Last Days of Cleopatra will feature choreography by Evan Knapp and musical direction by Charlie Barnett. The creative team also includes Joanne Haas (costume design), Drew Dedrick (set design) and Dan Martin (lighting and sound design).

The company comprises Anna Roberts (Elizabeth Taylor), Michael Deleget (Richard Burton), Cara Kem (Sybil Burton), Tom Beckett (Joseph Mankiewicz), E.C. Kelly (Irving Greenberg), Bobby Matoney (Eddie Fisher), Brett Rigby (Fred. E Smith), Valerie Issembert (Bianca), Christopher LaCroix (Rex Harrison), Alan Ostroff (Vinny), Michael Baldwin (Hermes Pan), Michael Siller (Guiseppe) and Brewster McCall (Adonis). The ensemble includes Robin Levine, Anna Lombardi and Michael Frishman.

The Last Days of Cleopatra will play Aug. 23 at 3 PM, Aug. 25 at 5:45 PM, Aug. 26 at 11:30 PM, Aug. 27 at 9:30 PM and Aug. 28 at 1:45 PM.

The Players Theatre is located at 115 MacDougal Street, between West 3rd Street and Bleeker Street. Tickets, priced at $15, are available by calling (212) 279-4488. For more information, visit www.FringeNYC.org.