'Merchant of Venice' hits stage

Prejudice, intolerance and revenge have been recurring topics of discussion at the University over the past few months. This week, Theater Arts will use the words of William Shakespeare to further the conversation on stage. Theater Arts' The Merchant of Venice, which will open, ironically, on the first night of Hanukkah, deals with the relationship between a Jewish creditor and his Christian debtors. According to director and College senior Chris Stillwell, theater groups often avoid this play for fear of offending their audiences. But Stillwell feels that the timely nature of the play makes it especially relevant and important to perform. "The irony of attempting to do [a play with racial themes] at the ultimate 'P.C.' capital of the world struck me as an interesting project," he said. Stillwell added that he believes the company's interpretation of the script will not be offensive. "Although some of the characters in the play are racist," he pointed out, "that does not mean that the play is racist." College junior Riaz Patel, who plays the Jewish businessman Shylock, said the entire cast has had to work hard to fit Shakespeare's words into a modern context. "To a large degree," he said, "we're fighting the script." Theater Arts Department Chairperson Cary Mazer, the show's faculty advisor, said he was not overly worried about the implications of performing The Merchant of Venice at the University. "I was concerned with... how the director would deal with the valences and ideological concerns of the play," he said. "But we were more concerned with the value of the artistic exercise." Some of Stillwell's interpretive decisions include putting the actors in modern dress and turning two of the Bard's characters into newscasters. The changes were designed to make the themes of The Merchant of Venice hit home, a choice which could cause some controversy. Mazer, for one, hopes that will happen: "Controversy is a good thing." The Merchant of Venice will run tonight, tomorrow, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Annenberg Center's Studio Theater. Tickets are on sale at the Annenberg ticket office and on Locust Walk for $5.