Word: portias
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...story concerns the attempt of Basanio (Steve Petersen), a young man of Venice, to court Portia (Cori Lynn Peterson), one of the most beautiful ladies in Italy. Because Bassanio has not yet come into his fortune, he must rely on the credit of his friend Antonio, the Merchant of Venice (David Gray...
...chests are the result of Portia's father's dying instructions as to how his daughter must choose a husband. Each suitor must choose a chest--one is made of gold, one of silver and one of lead. To aid the suitors, each chest has inscribed on it a cryptic clue--the suitor who is able to decipher the clues will win Portia's hand...
...audience is treated to humorous performances by both the Prince of Aragon (Jeremy Nye) and the Prince of Morocco (Danny Shivakumar), as they fail to win Portia's hand. Shivakumar displays a wonderfully cheesy attitude--he's self-confident to the point of parody. Nye is effective in the role of the Prince and plays the part with more than a touch of contempt for Portia, essentially telling her that she would be lucky to have him. Nye is actually more memorable in his other role as Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock's Falstaffian servant...
Petersen renders his part with power and conviction. His scenes with Portia are t0ender, but never hokey, and the audience feels the love that the two have for each other. As Portia, Peterson is the highlight of the show. Her role is difficult--she must move from a state of disillusion with her many uninspiring suitors to a state of elation upon seeing Bassanio as a new suitor. Peterson exhibits her acting ability most notably during her plea for Antonio--"The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the place beneath." Peterson...
Javerbaum redeems himself during those scenes in which Shylock is left humiliated by Portia and Antonio, forced to yield all of his possessions, and made to renounce his religion. In these moments Javerbaum raises his performance to the level of Shakespeare's writing, evoking intense pity as he leaves the stage a broken...