If rap music had existed in the 17th century, who would have been its biggest star? Megan Nicole O'Brien has an immediate answer to that question:

William Shakespeare.

The 28-year-old stage director from Philadelphia can back that opinion up with some street cred. She is directing the Milwaukee Rep production of "The Bombitty of Errors" that opens in the Stackner Cabaret Sunday night.

"Bombitty" bears a suspiciously close resemblance to Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors," with a large exception. It is set in the contemporary context of hip-hop culture.

The show was the senior project of four New York University theater students, and it quickly migrated to professional productions in places as far flung as Chicago, London and Amsterdam. Four male actors play all the roles, including female characters, while an onstage DJ scratches vinyl. It's a 90-minute madcap sprint through Shakespeare's comedy of mistaken identity.

"Lion King" stage creator and director Julie Taymor has favorably described "Bombitty" as "part farce, part parody, a bit musical and a bit of a drag show." Director O'Brien calls it "relatable, funny and creative. It's one of the most innovative projects I have seen."

"The Bombitty of Errors" reflects two of the objectives of the Rep's still new management team -- artistic director Mark Clements and managing director Dawn Helsing Wolters. They seek to increase the number of young theatergoers attending Rep shows and they want to produce more varied fare in the Stackner Cabaret.

Clements successfully lowered the age demographic at a regional theater he previously ran in England.

O'Brien and her brother, Michael Philip O'Brien, who is in the Rep's "Bombitty" cast, have their own stage troupe, 11th Hour Theatre Company, in Philadelphia. She directed and he acted in that group's "Bombitty" four years ago.

Among Megan Nicole O'Brien's other stage credits are being Clements' assistant director on his productions of "Les Miserable" and "Of Mice and Men" at the historic Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. She is an enthusiastic promoter of "Bombitty."

"It is really accessible to contemporary audiences," she said during a recent interview. "It is important to speak to people of all ages.

"Shakespeare lends himself to this interpretation very well." O'Brien added that ol' Will could be considered the first rapper.

Shows that attempt to be cross-generational run the risk of turning off a segment of their potential audience, and folks over 40 often strongly dislike rap music. The director hopes that won't scare off baby boomers.

Speaking of "Bombitty," she said, "It is definitely hip hop and rap, but that is not the main function." The musical genre actually sets up the contemporary comedy. Much fun is poked at the explicit sexuality of rap lyrics.

The sexy women are played by men, O'Brien reminds us. "I feel pretty good we will change people's minds about rap music," she added.

Familiar Milwaukee actor Wayne T. Carr, Justin Jain and Steve Pacek join Michael Philip O'Brien in the Rep cast. Mark Valenzuela will be the DJ.

Networks Gleeful About Theater Shows 

The enormous success of the Fox television series "Glee" has set off a scramble to create other behind-the-scenes theater shows for the small screen. HBO has dropped a project about a Broadway composer modeled on Stephen Sondheim, according to New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel, but he reports that NBC has acquired "Smash," a series about a new Broadway musical in out-of-town tryouts.

Theresa Rebeck, who authored the most recent Milwaukee Chamber Theatre offering, "Mauritius," has written the series' pilot. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman ("Hairspray") are composing the songs, and Steven Spielberg is producing, Riedel says.