ABSTRACT
Christmas Day, 1958, I began working on the music for Antony and Cleopatra. George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst were to star. It was being done at the Heckscher Theatre, where George had first done Richard the Third a year and a half earlier. Joe Papp decided to do it as a reading. There was almost no set and very simple costumes. I noticed how much George had grown already as an actor. He seemed to have even more skill and grace and assurance than he had when he had played Richard and Jaques. Colleen also seemed even better than she had been as Lady Macbeth. The music was very simple. Since it was being done indoors, I wrote the entire score for trumpet, viola, bassoon and percussion. Occasionally there were some fanfares, but this seemingly limited combination of instruments was sufficient to carry the musical burden through the entire play, without being repetitive. It opened January 13, 1959.
