Word: merchantable
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Eliot Drama Group production of The Merchant of Venice is in many ways an indication of how much can be done with how little. The play, to be sure, is by Shakespeare, but it is not among his greatest comedies and it has a flavor of anti-semitism repugnant to modern audiences. Most of the actors are, furthermore, relative new-comers to the local dramatic scene. Yet they all tackle their assignments with obvious enthusiasm and high spirits, and in the end bring to life a production that is very enjoyable...
...seems a little rough, mainly because the play is not very funny. Throughout the first half of the comedy, most of the humor is at the expense of the Jew, Shylock, whom the poet conceived as a grasping, vengeful figure intent on exacting his pound of flesh from the Merchant. But director Richard Smithies has wisely chosen not to make Shylock the butt of all the jokes, even though he succeeds only partially in finding funny material elsewhere in the play...
...Nerissa, is charming throughout, gaining stature as the play progresses. As Launcelot Gobbo, a clown, Michael Pollatsek injects some humor into the early scenes by cleverly contrived pomposity and overacting. Ernest Eugene Pell, on the other hand, gives a somewhat too unobtrusive, if competent, performance as Antonio, the Merchant. Yet the only serious defect in the acting of these and the other members of the large cast is their sloppyness in meeting cues. If Smithies subjects them to a little more discipline, they should be much more polished in subsequent performances. Yet all the rough spots of the opening night...
...quick rise to success Merchant McLane has introduced into Europe the most modern and businesslike American methods of food processing and distribution. But to get where he is, McLane has also used such unbusinesslike methods as smuggling, bribery, corrupting public officials, jumping bail and evading arrest...
...house is strong academically, but even stronger intellectually; there were five Eliot Rhodes scholars in residence at Oxford with Master Finley in 1955. Artistically, the House Dramatic Society scored a major success with its February production of Richard II, and is now rehearsing The Merchant of Venice. An Elizabethan comedy is the highlight of the annual Christmas dinner, and there are several practice rooms for pianists...