{"id":11004,"date":"2012-02-16T14:39:41","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T18:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=11004"},"modified":"2021-09-10T13:47:25","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T17:47:25","slug":"shakespeare%e2%80%99s-shylock-shines-on-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2012\/02\/16\/shakespeare%e2%80%99s-shylock-shines-on-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakespeare\u2019s Shylock shines on stage"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Wright State’s “The Merchant of Venice”\u00a0 takes adds a new twist by setting the action in modern-day Italy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Greed, revenge, passion and jealousy abound at the Wright State theatre department\u2019s production of William Shakespeare\u2019s The Merchant of Venice<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Directed by associate theatre professor Sandra Crews, this classic play tells the story of a wealthy merchant, three pairs of lovers and a moneylender bent on vengeance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes place in Venice at the time when Jewish ghettos were prevalent throughout Europe,\u201d said Crews. \u201cIt looks at the idea of marginalizing a group of people and what happens when they get a chance to get back at the people who have been mistreating them for years and years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the question becomes, do you avenge yourself in some terrible way or do you have mercy on the people who haven\u2019t had mercy on you?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Wright State production takes a new turn by setting the action in modern-day Italy. Crews said that while all of Shakespeare\u2019s plays are relevant today, Merchant<\/em> especially speaks to contemporary audience because discrimination happens all over the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show has really taught me that how you treat people is important,\u201d said senior acting major Tess Talbot. \u201cYou have to watch how you behave towards others not just outwardly in what you say and do, but also inwardly in what you think about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talbot is part of the other big twist Wright State has built into this production. She plays Antonia, a female version of the male Antonio character.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think gender-bending the role is a brilliant idea,\u201d said Talbot. \u201cNot only does it add more female roles to Shakespeare\u2019s plays because there aren\u2019t many of them, but also adds to the complexity of the story.\u00a0 It allows the relationship between Antionio and Bassanio to flesh itself out more, making it much more of a love triangle with Portia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sophomore acting major Andrew Quiett has taken on the show\u2019s most challenging and iconic role: Shylock, a Jewish moneylender out to get a \u201cpound of flesh\u201d from those who have persecuted him for his religious beliefs. Shylock\u2019s \u201chath not a Jew eyes\u201d speech in Act Three, a stirring condemnation of prejudice and racism, is one of Shakespeare\u2019s most quoted monologues.<\/p>\n

The role of Shylock has been played by many notable actors, including Lawrence Olivier and Patrick Stewart. Most recently, Al Pacino tackled the part in both a New York stage production and a Hollywood film adaptation.<\/p>\n

Despite the show\u2019s heavy themes, it is considered one of Shakespeare\u2019s comedies.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody dies at the end, which makes it a comedy,\u201d said Crews. \u201cBut actually, the show is quite funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performances run through Feb. 26 in the Creative Arts Center. Tickets ($20 for adults; $18 for students and seniors) can be purchased by calling the Theatre Box Office at (937) 775-2500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greed, revenge, passion and jealousy abound at the Wright State theatre department\u2019s production of William Shakespeare\u2019s “The Merchant of Venice.” Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":11005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,729,725,747,715,719,720],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-around-campus","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-special-categories","category-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11004"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111991,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11004\/revisions\/111991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}