The Merchant of Venice (Broadway)
Opening Night: November 7, 2010
Closing: January 9, 2011
Theater: Broadhurst Theatre
Al Pacino reprises his celebrated role as Shylock in the transfer of this summer’s Public Theater production. Antonio, a young man, pledges a pound of his own flesh to a moneylender, Shylock, so a friend can woo his lady-love in style. Antonio learns a hard lesson in loyalty, humanity, friendship and prejudice when the revenge-seeking Shylock comes to collect and he is unable to pay.
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July 1, 2010
At the end of the first of half of Daniel Sullivan’s marvelous new production of “The Merchant of Venice,” at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, Shylock the moneylender can be found loudly lamenting his recent losses. These include a) a small fortune in cash and jewels, and b) his daughter, who has eloped with said valuables. As usual, Shylock, molten with sorrow and anger, cannot figure out which matters more.
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July 1, 2010
In a rare stage appear ance — his first at the Delacorte Theater — Al Pacino is affectingly understated (for Al Pacino). On the whole, the Shakespeare in the Park production that just opened is zippy and entertaining — downright frothy, at times.
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July 1, 2010
If it sounds snide to say that helmer Daniel Sullivan’s "Merchant of Venice" is brilliant except that the director misunderstands Shylock, it shouldn’t. How often does the famous villain appear, anyway? He has some of the biggest moments in the play — bigger in this production because he’s being played by Al Pacino — but Shakespeare’s script is about lovers. Sullivan’s production rightly focuses on the tentative love triangle between Bassanio (our layabout hero), his doting friend Antonio, and the object of his affections, Portia. Sullivan handles these relationships with such admirable subtlety that the play shines.
READ THE REVIEWJuly 1, 2010
A hearty and approving Whoo-ah! to Al Pacino, Lily Rabe and Daniel Sullivan – stars and director of Shakespeare in the Park’s new version of "The Merchant of Venice."
READ THE REVIEWJuly 2, 2010
First things first: I’ve never been much able to stomach "The Merchant of Venice," not when I first read it in high school nor when I first saw it (in 1973 on TV, starring the husband-and-wife team of Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright). I’m always too aware of William Shakespeare enthusiastically pandering to the anti-Semitism of his day in this "comedy" while absolving himself with the "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Nevertheless, there’s some vintage language and two intriguing characters: Shylock and Portia. Director Daniel Sullivan is fortunate to have terrific performances in those roles from Al Pacino and Lily Rabe. So if you can stand the play’s ick factor or are unfamiliar with the work, a trip to the Delacorte is probably in order.
READ THE REVIEWNovember 13, 2010
They belong to worlds that, in the normal course of events, would never intersect. But Shakespeare, as the creator of their universe, saw fit to let their paths cross just once. And when Portia finally meets Shylock, in Daniel Sullivan’s absolutely splendid production of “The Merchant of Venice” at the Broadhurst Theater, the collision lights up the sky.
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