Grand and Gory

Titus Andronicus was the closest thing Shakespeare ever wrote to a slasher flick. Of the 56 characters that die during the course of the play, two characters get baked in a pie, seven have their limbs are chopped off and one especially unlucky person gets buried alive. It's not like Cleveland Public Theatre to do a boring, straightforward, dry play. So, embracing the blood-spewing, limb-tearing, tongue-cutting script and setting it to a rocking musical score, Cleveland Public Theatre presents Titus: A Grand And Gory Rock Musical. With an original rock score and full dedication to the macabre, this isn't your old English professor's Shakespeare. The show starts tonight at 7:30 and runs through March 22 in the Gordon Square Theatre. Tickets are $12 to $28. (Stoops)