The last show of URI's season is William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of
Venice" which is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598.
Although classified as a comedy and although it shares certain aspects with
Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the show is remembered more for its
dramatic scenes and is best known for the character of Shylock. The title
character is the merchant, Antonio, not the Jewish moneylender, Shylock who
is the play's most prominent and more famous character. Though Shylock is a
tormented character, he is also a tormentor, so whether he is to be viewed
with disdain or sympathy is up to the audience as influenced by the
interpretation of the play's director. The show takes place in the Venice of
the Renaissance, Italy. It encompasses two stories: one is of love and
marriage; the other of usury, prejudice and revenge. These stories feature
two remarkable characters: Portia, an educated strong heroine and Shylock, a
moneylender who is a Jew. How their stories and those of her suitors and his
daughter converge in a Venetian court of law mesmerizes us with its
ingenious solution to an astonishing dilemma and pose moral and social
questions with which we struggle today. The show delights us with its tale
of friendship, love, marriage and commerce, while troubling us with its
casual display of racial prejudice, particularly hatred of the Jew.
Anti-Semitism was integral to most Christian homogeneous societies during
the Renaissance. Though there probably were no Jews in England at this time,
Shakespeare drew upon the archetypes of literature and mythology and Jews
were often portrayed as comic figures with hook noses and red wigs. Later,
actors often chose to make the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, a sympathetic
character. In Venice Jews were spat upon, locked in ghettoes at night and
ostracized in various ways. Shylock is basically isolated in Shakespeare's
Venetian Christian society. His daughter, Jessica, takes his valuables,
elopes with Lorenzo and converts to Christianity. Shylock is bereft.
Balancing this dark theme is Portia, the educated, lovely, wealthy heiress
of Belmont whom Bassanio woos and wins by choosing the correct casket, a
task designated by Portia's father before he died. Bassanio depends on his
beloved and loving friend, Antonio, the merchant of Venice who allows him to
guarantee the credit borrowed from Shylock. The penalty is a pound of flesh.
What happens when Antonio's ships are lost at sea, when Shylock brings him
to court, when Portia disguised as a male lawyer, tries to mediated the case
to save Antonio, and when two wedding rings are given away drives this
exciting story to its strong lyrical conclusion. URI theatre students, Ben
Rose and Nile Hawver also created original music for this production. (An
original composition called "Love Sonnet" is sung by Nile and Lara) Director
Bryna Wortman brings out the best in her cast and says "rather than censor
this disturbing play, we at URI Theatre invite you to enjoy it, discuss it
and to oppose it's ugly prejudices." The original music is beautifully
written and performed, bringing the audience to laughter and tears at all
the right moments.
. In Belmont, Portia is awash with suitors who must pick one of the
three caskets with her portrait inside will win her hand and Bassanio
chooses the leaden casket. (The Prince chooses the golden one which contains
the famous phrase "All that glitters is not gold" and the comic French
Prince chooses the silver one.) He and Portia are married as is his friend,
Gratiano and her handmaid, Nerissa. A letter is sent to him by Shylock
saying that Antonio has defaulted on his loan. Unknown to Bassanio and
Gratiano, the women leave Belmont to seek counsel of Portia's cousin,
Bellario who is a lawyer. The climax of the play comes in the court of the
Duke of Venice when Shylock demands the pound of flesh from Antonio. Portia
disguised as a male lawyer asks Shylock to show mercy in the famous speech,
"The quality of mercy is not strained it droppeth as the gentle rain from
heaven upon the place beneath". She seems to be offering Shylock an appeal,
it becomes an ultimatum, a final chance for him to save himself before
Portia crushes his legal arguments. Shylock argues earlier in the show with
his famous quote "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? ...If you prick us do we
not bleed?. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard
but I will better the instruction." While we understand his motivation, we
can't excuse the endless perpetuation of such villainy as he sinks to their
level to behave as they have in the past. Shylock tells Antonio to prepare
to pay his debt, and at that very moment Portia points out a flaw in the
contract. The bond only allows Shylock to remove the flesh, not the blood.
Defeated Shylock must convert to Christianity and will his entire estate to
his daughter Jessica and her husband Lorenzo. After all the other characters
make amends, all ends happily except for Shylock as Antonio learns that his
three ships were not stranded and have returned safely after all. Bryna ends
the show with a tableau of a dejected Shylock having had to convert to
Christianity and Antonio holding Shylock's yellow cap. This talented cast is
lead by Ben Gracia as Shylock who I reviewed all season long in "Small
Tragedy", "Oklahoma" and "The Foreigner" , shows Shylock as a multifaceted
character who has been forced to behave in this way. Shylock becomes a more
sympathetic character that the audience can understand , that he has been
wounded by the unjust society of the times and wants to be treated like
anyone else should be. His plan of vengeance may seem extreme but one must
put it in the perspective of the 16th century to fully understand his
rational. Elise Petrarca as Portia who I reviewed as Darcy's mean spirited
aunt in "Pride and Prejudice" at URI in 2007, shines in this role as the
heroic woman who saves the day. A strong, independent woman, unheard of back
in the 16th century, Elise's talent comes through whether she is disposing
of unwanted suitors, caring for her husband, defending Antonio or putting
Shylock in his place back then. Other roles are handled very well
including Benjamin Grills as Bassanio who I reviewed as Hajika, the Bosnian
student in "Small Tragedy". Gregory Infussi as Gratiano with a lilt of a
Brooklyn accent, and Micah Tougas as Nerissa who I reviewed in 2007 as Luisa
in The Fantasticks at The Granite Theatre, do a topnotch job in their roles
as Bassanio and Portia's closest confidants. Lara Maynard as Jessica and
Nile Hawver as Lorenzo ( played across from each other in "Oklahoma" as
Laurey and Curly.) are Shylock's daughter and new husband who elope
and inherit the old man's money. Johnny Sederquist who I reviewed as Charlie
Baker in "The Foreigner" plays another comic role as Lancelet, Shylock
servant who has the funniest lines in this show. (Jesse Dulfault is a hoot
as the pompous Prince of Aragon who struts around the stage.) Antonio's
selfless care of his best friend and disdain for the Jews are the flaws in
his personality and Vince Petronio captures the dichotomy of the character
wonderfully. Hatred and violence can't solve problems they create new ones
while love and understanding are the solutions in real life, too.
The gorgeous multitude of 16th century costumes are by David Howard. The
majestic two story set design is by Cheryl deWardener who has a panel in the
middle turn transporting the scene back and forth from Venice to Belmont
with ease. The excellent lighting design is by Christian Wittwer and sound
design by Michael Hyde while his real life wife, Maria Day is one of the
hard working stage managers.. Bryna's past shows include "Grapes of Wrath",
"Angels in America" and "Diary of Anne Frank" which I have reviewed and show
her expert direction. We learn from the past not to be prejudiced by
people's ethnic backgrounds and to teach tolerance of others to avoid
tragedies that are found in his other shows especially "Romeo and Juliet".
So for a wonderful production of a thought provoking version of "The
Merchant of Venice", be sure to catch the show before time runs out.
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE ( 16 to 26 April, 2009)
URI Theatre, Robert Will Theatre,Upper College
Road, Kingston, RI
