THE 1041C Theater Reviews

Like the Jew of Malta, the “Merchant of Venice” is a classic play rife with anti-Semitism and with various conflicts going on between the Renaissance Jews and the Christians of the era. In this particular play, Shylock is a money lender with questionable morals and Bassanio and Antonio make up the Christian side of the play. However all plays are a product of their time and it feels as if Shylock is forced to be the evil, ravening Jew who seeks to take a pound of flesh from Antonio at all costs. The social constraints of the period restrict him from exercising any mercy towards Antonio. Darko Tresnjak’s skillful direction of this timeless play allows for a more complicated layer of emotion and interpretation as we see in Shylock’s character a man who has been hounded by the Christian majority for his whole life and when his daughter runs away with a Christian, something finally snaps. And for all his hard work, he is forced to give up half his estate to Antonio, who lost his ships and wasn’t able to repay Shylock his original borrowed sum, as well being forced to convert to Christianity. So Shylock in the end, is forced to give even more money to Antonio, even though Antonio technically broke the law and the contract by not being able to repay the sum, just because Antonio is a Christian.
I must admit, when I first read this play in high school, I was rooted in firm support for the Christian gang and cheered with everyone else when Portia was able to save Antonio with her clever interpretation of the contract. All’s well that end well right? This production has forcefully opened my eyes to the other side of the issue as well as showing me the more hidden emotions and motives behind each character’s actions. F. Murray Abraham plays such a stunning Shylock with finely nuanced actions and speech that he really is the “perfect” villain for this production but in that sense, his perfect villain is a man who is not really a villain at all but just a man who in his relentless quest for his “pound of flesh” was brought to his own downfall by his own pride. There is a sense of pity and sympathy for Shylock as the Duke passes down the punishment of conversion.
Additionally, there are also certain comedice presences with Arnie Burton as Balthazar, providing a nice humorous reprieve from the more somber sequences of the play.
The Theater for New Audience’s production of Merchant has been made anew for modern times with a clean and simple set design with a three quarter stage set only with three Apple computers and three flat panel screens. The costume design was revamped for modern times as well as Shylock enters the room with an expresso and the Financial Times. Each Christian wears suits worthy of bankers and get more flamboyant with every act while by stark contrast, Shylock wears the simplest of attire.
This production succeeds in producing a successful enactment of one of Shakespeare’s classics and shows that the concepts and messages that are involved in Shakespeare’s plays are easily identifiable even in the modern day setting. This production for me at least, managed to capture the emotions and the main theme of the play and perhaps was able to add a bit more as well.