Word: shylock
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...surprising, then, to see this play performed by Hillel Drama. In a daring move, director Josh Edelman '00 and producer Ari VanderWalde '00 set out to confront this "blatantly anti-semitic show" and strip it of all pretensions of heroism or resolution. Their production revolves around Shylock, played by Tim Foley '98. He is a tall, grave man whose dignity is slowly eroded by a festering hatred of the Christians who persecute his nation. He becomes a sort of tragic hero, bound to the stereotype of the Jewish usurer, who can only mourn the loss of his daughter by mourning...
Across from Shylock are Antonio and Bassiano, played by Joe Nuccio '00 and Jay Chaffin '01. They are portrayed as unheroically as possible. Simpering and effeminate, Antonio hides himself behind the props of gloves and an ornate, scepter-like stick. Bassanio manages to rise from a state of dogged ineffectiveness for only a brief moment in his courtship with a stirring monologue condemning ostentation. The reversal of the hero roles in The Merchant of Venice, though effective and interesting, is at times taken a bit too far. When Bassanio throws himself at Portia's feet--kicking and yammering petulantly...
...cast is Gratiano, Bassanio's friend played by David Joffe '00. He imbues the production with a delightful and slightly anachronistic bawdy energy. His effortless movements from good natured lewdness to an extreme violence of anti-Semitism are startling and disconcerting, stressing the hatred that paves the way for Shylock's implacable lust for revenge...
...Bassanio's love for Portia is linked to the fortune she will bring him, and even the marriage between Bassanio's man Gratiano and Portia's maid Nerissa (Catherine Crow HGSE '99) is contingent upon their employers' financial union. The Christians themselves embody the gross materialism they condemn in Shylock, and it taints even the "pure" love of Jessica (Shira Palmer-Sherman '02) and Lorenzo (Gregory David '99). Shakespeare's mockery of closure cannot be reached until an inheritance for these two is forced from Jessica's father and Antonio's ships are recovered safely...
...Merchant of Venice works up from its simple beginning, whirling through widening spirals of hatred and loss. A strange, contradictory suspense builds throughout the play, and the judgment scene in which Shylock calls in his bond before the law is riveting. Hillel Drama, through its shrewd interpretation of Shakespeare's work, uncovers the ironies and contradictions in the text, creating a true and more effective production...