Erika Amato and Bruce Sabath. Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski.

A modern twist on the classic tale of Cleopatra’s love life between Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, The Sphinx Winx is a refreshing gift of humor of the classic kind. Upon entering the theater (which, in fact, is home to five different stages inside) a relaxed atmosphere rescues you from the hectic aura of Times Square. The welcoming staff greets you with a genuine smile and helps direct you to the lounge on the second floor. The calm, dim lighting invites you inside to wait before the actual show begins. Another staff person enters the lounge and announces that The Sphinx Winx will begin seating. Often, multiple shows are going on at once, leading to some people shushing you as you wait to enter. The Beckett is a cozy, small theater which seats around 120 people with a low stage inches from the front row (which had no occupants during the play). There is no balcony, and most of the scenery and set-up equipment are in plain sight. Looking at the simple but hard-to-read programs, it is interesting to find that only 6 people act in the musical.

Soon, the lights dim on the Egyptian Setting stage and a man, later to be known as the Soothsayer (and a guard, a soldier and other various characters) enters to introduce the play with a song. Subtle humor hints on current events and nobody in the crowd can help but laugh. Cleopatra arrives along with her husband, Caesar, and two slaves, Crecia and Laurel. The royals’ daughter arrives, Lunia, with her singing, which seems to plague the mind of Cleo. The rousing play continues with wonderful puns and ironic remarks. The one-way love between Cleo and Caesar is tested when the honorable Marc Antony visits with specific governmental orders from Rome. However, it leads to another half-affair, for Antony would prefer to be with Crecia, the slave woman. Cleo then, from the advice of her Soothsayer, fights for his love, fails, and faints. She seems to be recreated but really had a more devious plan in hand. By the ending an unbalanced bias jury has decided Caesar’s fate, a daughter is saved, a love is preserved. Throughout the play, jokes on Law & Order, Janet Jackson and many others fill the crowd with laughter and in the end, nobody wants the cast to leave.

The show is around 90 minutes long with no intermission, which is no problem when nobody in the theater really wants to go! The show begins promptly, and thankfully starts at a relatively early hour. It is appropriate for most age groups, for when there is ‘adult humor’ it is well hidden and left virtually unseen by anyone who wouldn’t know the meaning of it. Along with the puns and jokes, every now and then a cast member would say something aloud in Latin, a true test of skill! This colorful, amusing show is a certain must-see for those who wish to escape the tight, strained grip of city life and relax awhile with an ‘educational’ show!