By David NouNou
Anyone who ever had a fear of reading or comprehending Shakespeare in school or
throughout life had better rush to the Broadhurst Theatre and feast their eyes
on this brilliant revival presented by The Public Theater, starring Al Pacino.
Never has Shakespeare been more accessible, understandable, and satisfying than
this version of The Merchant of Venice. The language is still Elizabethan, but
with the modern touches under Daniel Sullivan's expert direction, set design by
Mark Wendland, and costume design by Jeff Goldstein, all the stuffiness
associated with it has been taken out and doused with fresh, brutal energy. I
can’t say I enjoyed last year's version of Hamlet with Jude Law, or 2008's Macbeth
with Patrick Stewart, even though they were both done in modern dress; they
still possessed all the Shakespearean trappings that one fears.
Set in
Venice in times when Christians did not believe in charging interest on loans
and only Jews were in the money-lending business, Antonio, a Venetian merchant
(Byron Jennings) with his resources tapped, is approached by Bassanio, a lord
and friend (David Harbour), to borrow money in order to pursue his lady love
Portia, an heiress (Lily Rabe). Not to let his friend down, Antonio allows Bassanio
to use his name as credit. In order to secure this loan, he must go to the
Jewish moneylender, Shylock (Al Pacino), to obtain the 3,000 ducats for a
period of three months. The bond created is that, if Antonio fails to repay in
three months, the penalty is that Shylock would obtain a pound of Antonio's
flesh. And this is just the start of
Shakespeare's immortal classic.
In 1990, a
version was presented with Dustin Hoffman as Shylock. It was Shakespeare,
unexciting and safe. I had the good fortune as a teenager of seeing Mr. Pacino
in his Broadway debut and Tony Award-winning role as a drug addict in 1969 in Does
a Tiger Wear a Necktie? The play was
good, but Mr. Pacino was sensational, and his star was on the rise. He was the
new Brando: raw, exciting, stark, and fearless. Safe does not exist in Mr.
Pacino’s vocabulary. His Shylock is a dark, vengeful stereotypical Jewish
moneylender of the times, and he wants his revenge. He demands his pound of
flesh. He portrays him as ruthless and unsympathetic and asks for no pity. As
written, and a product of Shakespeare's time, the Jew was a lowly cur who
deserved no respect and no sympathy, and Shakespeare strips him of all his
dignity and, in the end, leaves him with nothing. However, from the moment Mr.
Pacino enters to his final exit, we are riveted to his Shylock. In not playing
him safe and sympathetic, our heart goes to this Shylock, for ultimately he is
the injured party and the victim here
As Portia,
Lily Rabe finally comes to full fruition as an actress. Her Portia is fresh, intelligent
and beguiling. She is both commanding and vulnerable and a constant delight. Byron
Jennings as Antonio can always be relied on to deliver a good performance;
however, David Harbour's Bassanio needed some reigning in. He is too contemporary
to be part of this company. In the middle of the show as one of Portia's suitors, the Prince of Arragon, Charles Kimbrough (who played Jim Dial on TV’s "Murphy Brown") delivers a beautiful nugget of a performance. A scene-stealing moment
if ever there was one.
Upon
seeing this version of The Merchant of Venice, don't feel bad if you find
yourself rooting for Shylock. Due to Al Pacino's galvanizing performance, just
this once you hope that he ends up being victorious. By not demanding our pity,
he is the hero and not the villain.
Published November 15, 2010
Reviewed at Press Performance on November 13, 2010
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