Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

"The acting was really good," commented a young woman as she was leaving the American Globe Theater's performance of Shakespeare's sometimes troubling "The Merchant of Venice." The off-off Broadway theater, in its 17th season, also invests the story in which Shylock demands his questionably rightful "pound of flesh" with other fine theatrical elements. Yet, for me, the whole experience was not as good as the sum of its many admirable parts.

The actors, under the direction of Artistic Director John Basil, portray their characters with masterly skill. Several are particularly noteworthy. The Jewish money-lender Shylock (Rainard Rachele) is refined, dignified and -- for the most part -- emotionally restrained. Venetian gentleman Bassanio (David Dean Hastings) is almost likeable with his rakish and irresponsible nature. Wealthy heiress Portia (Elizabeth Keefe) and her lady-in-waiting Nerissa (Deepti Gupta) are excellent as partners in their duplicity involving romantic manipulation and the rendering of questionable justice. Bassanio's friend Lorenzo (Jon Hoche) and Shylock's betraying daughter Jessica deal well with the complexity of their relationship. The titular merchant Antonio (Richard Fay) is intriguing and enigmatic in his bridled affection for Bassanio.

Other delights can be appreciated in the scene involving Portia's suitors with the riddle of the caskets. The three young ladies (Debra Lewis, Wendy Chu, Nicole Patrick) bearing the bejeweled boxes, which will determine their lady's fate, are the audience's prize of enchantment in their appearance and demeanor. The Prince of Morocco (Robert Lee Taylor) and the Prince of Arragon (Graham Stevens) depict their flawed characters with comic aplomb, as does Launcelot Gobo (Mat Sanders).

The set with Byzantine-gothic motifs, by Mark Hakala, uses platforms connected by a Rialto-like bridge and a balcony to dutifully convey both mercantile Venice and the more pastoral Belmont. Delightful and appropriate costumes by Shima Usihba complement the sparse set perfectly, as does Scott O'Brien's sound design of enjoyable and meaningful brief musical interludes between scenes. The only exceptions to the fine design of the show occur in the courtroom scene, where the presiding Duke is positioned high above the main action and unexplained voices from a crowd seem to be coming from an outside place.

Additionally, there are some of Shakespeare's most famous words: "All that glisters is not gold."; "Hath not a Jew eyes“"; "The quality of mercy is not strained…"

A program note states: "'The Merchant of Venice' ends in harmony but leaves enough questions to keep the audience debating the important issues that it raises." However, in order for the play to be satisfying for me, the moral scales of the characters must be tipped.

One example: Portia gets off too easily. She disguises herself as a fair judge - offering mercy - while having pages in a law book marked which would strip Shylock of all his worldly possessions and force him to convert to Christianity. Yet, she seems almost justified in her unmerciful pronouncements of law.

In the end, I did not become detached enough to judge the characters with an objectively critical eye but was also not taken in enough by them to feel compassion or distain.

Nevertheless, this "Merchant" is a fine production which deserves to be judged individually.