REVIEW: Al Pacino and Lily Rabe illuminate a dark ‘Merchant of Venice’

Shakespearean revival shows a cruel world's scant mercy for Shylock and his kind

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERESEYNEWSROOM.COM

BROADWAY REVIEW

Director Daniel Sullivan's production of "The Merchant of Venice" has become darker in its transfer from the Delacorte in Central Park to the Broadhurst Theatre, where the revival opened over the weekend.

The spiky iron fencing comprising Mark Wendland's circular set looks more constricting and sinister than before. Unrelieved by actual moonlight, Kenneth Posner's lighting suggests a gloomy, sooty Venice for Shakespeare's troubling story about the Jewish moneylender Shylock, the brilliant heiress Portia and the two Rialto gents, Bassanio and Antonio, who link their lives.

Sullivan's grave interpretation of the play allows for love and laughter to brighten the romantic scenes at Portia's estate but even Belmont's fairy-tale atmosphere sobers when Portia realizes how Bassanio, the love of her life, is not as faithful as she expected.

As for the greater city drama concerning Shylock's attempt to destroy Antonio, the director depicts a forbidding world where Jews are excluded — except when their money is needed — and in the end justice proves much trickier than anyone anticipates.

Expect a swift and clearly-spoken rendition of the play from Sullivan's capable company headed by Al Pacino and Lily Rabe, who create illuminating portrayals of Shylock and Portia.

Beginning quietly and reflectively, Pacino's spiteful Shylock becomes nastier as the story proceeds, his wheedling intonations sharpening into a whine even as his personal appearance grows disheveled over the shocking loss of his ducats and daughter. No doubt a villain in Pacino's merciless portrayal, even the interpolation of a cruel baptismal sequence secures little sympathy for this dangerous character.

Her musical voice pitched low and conversationally, Rabe depicts a very smart Portia who's well aware of the princess image she needs to project in Belmont, which interestingly makes her later decision to masquerade as a young scholar seem natural. Portia's amused composure during the challenge scenes — nice to see Charles Kimbrough's cameo as an elderly dandy — turns flustered and deeply ardent when she encounters Bassanio.

The courtroom face-off that puts Shylock and Portia in a life-or-death situation becomes electric with tension even to a viewer who knows the play well. Thanks for writing it, Shakespeare. It's great to see your stuff served so well by Sullivan's sharp staging and these co-stars' memorable performances.

A newcomer to the production, David Harbour depicts Bassanio as a handsome doofus who feels things far more deeply than he thinks about them. Byron Jennings' noble merchant Antonio shows a streak of masochism in his potential martyrdom. Jesse L. Martin is sporty as their chum Gratiano while Marsha Stephanie Blake is no pushover as the lady he desires to wed. Aside from Portia's picturesque costumes, designer Jess Goldstein dresses nearly everyone in somber Victorian clothes that provide something of a visual halfway point between the appearance of Shakespeare's society and our own times.

"The Merchant of Venice" continues through Jan. 9 at the Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44th St., New York. Call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.