Hannah Duggan is one of the stars of Buntport Theater’s award-winning, remounted staging of “Titus Andronicus! The Musical!” that turns Shakespeare’s bloodiest and most ridiculous tragedy into his funniest comedy.
This unusual production includes a tote board of death, as well as a clever scoreboard roster with light bulbs that help the audience to know which characters each of the five actors are playing at any given time.
And the whole thing plays out with only a broken-down Club Wagon for a set. It won the Denver Post Ovation Award for best comedy of 2002.
Buntport is an ensemble of six Colorado College grads who present only original works they write, direct and stage as a collective. Duggan says the rumor is true that they do, in fact, also shower together. “We scrub each other’s backs,” she said.
John Moore: So Hannah, when are you going to dump those fools? You know they’re just holding you back.
Hannah Duggan: They are holding me back — from having a 9-to-5 job.
Moore: Let’s start by telling people who your super-cool momma is.
Duggan: My super-cool momma is Melody Duggan, who is the theater teacher at Denver East High School.
Moore: She’s a local legend in the high-school theater circles.
Duggan: Is she?
Moore: You didn’t know?
Duggan: I don’t hang out in the high-school theater circles, I guess.
Moore: Why do people love this show?
Duggan: Because it’s really dumb. It’s the dumbest thing we’ve ever done.
Moore: You know what I love to say about that Club Wagon? “When this van is a rockin’, someone comes a choppin’. ”
Duggan: That’s really bad, John.
Moore: Tell us about my favorite character, Lavinia.
Duggan: Lavinia is the lovely daughter of Titus Andronicus, who finds herself in a bit of a pickle when she ends up having her tongue and both hands chopped off. But in our version, she thinks it’s pretty funny because boy, they got her good.
Moore: Why is it that when Lavinia opens her mouth to speak after having her hands and tongue chopped off, we think it’s just about the funniest thing we’ve ever seen?
Duggan: I think it’s because I am singing a Britney Spears song.
Duggan: That’s so avant garde.
Moore: Oh, don’t say it’s “avant garde.” Don’t even say it.
“Titus Andronicus! The Musical!” plays Thursdays through Sundays through Dec. 29 at Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan St., Denver; 720-946-1388 and .
By the numbers
5: The number of actors in “Titus Andronicus! The Musical!”
20: Number of characters those actors portray.
37: Number of characters who die during the play.
Listen to John Moore’s podcast with Hannah Duggan
Running Lines with … Hannah Duggan: To hear John Moore’s entire interview, .
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
