The Merchant of Venice (review)

First Folio Theatre co-founders Alison C. Vesely (Artistic Director) and David Rice (Executive Director) have spent fifteen years producing Shakespeare-under-the-Stars in the western suburbs of Chicago. Their approach, as indicated by their name, focuses on the First Folio as the authoritative text of Shakespeare’s plays and is based on their studies with Patrick Tucker at the RSC. Actors practicing what they call “the First Folio Technique” use the extra-grammatical punctuation, non-traditional capitalization, and verse lines in that text as guideposts to performance on the assumption that these were the equivalent of Shakespeare’s own notes to the actors. In an interview, Rice emphasized that their technique is “not prescriptive, but descriptive,” a set of clues rather than a set of rules.

According to their publicity, First Folio chose to close their landmark fifteenth season with “Shakespeare’s most controversial play.” Under the direction of Vesely, however, their production of The Merchant of Venice seemed to be fighting against that description. Even though Vesely kept the focus on the antagonistic relationship between Shylock and Antonio (almost to the point of ignoring the romance between Bassanio and Portia), the production presented such an empathetic version of the Jewish moneylender that, particularly in the final courtroom scene, the play became less controversial than it was confusing.

The play began at dusk with Solanio and Salario chatting in a bustling international marketplace. The outdoor location, on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, was stunning, but the production remained rooted to the stage itself, even in outdoor scenes like this one. (The notable exception was Lancelot Gobbo, who often stood in the grass below the stage—the same space in which the audience sat in their folding chairs or on their picnic blankets.) On the stage, set designer Angela Weber Miller created a prison-like set in sepia tones, with walls of bars imposed over a lovely painted mural of sixteenth-century Venice. First Folio used this primarily as a backdrop, and the main playing space was a wide but shallow stage, empty but for a few pieces of furniture brought on and off for specific scenes. Just behind and to the left of the audience loomed the Portiuncula Chapel, a replica of the original in Assisi, Italy. Although the Mayslake Peabody estate describes it as nondenominational, the building sports a giant wooden cross that seemed to hover over the audience, a striking if perhaps unnecessary reminder about the dominant religion in the Venice of Shakespeare’s play. The production never acknowledged this symbol of both mercy and authority, perhaps because its position in relation to the stage made it difficult for the actors to see, but the audience could not ignore its presence, and it therefore became something of an elephant in the theatre space.

Michael Goldberg, whose imposing physical presence overwhelmed all those around him, played Shylock. Goldberg seriously underplayed Shylock’s vitriol, perhaps to compensate for his size, or to avoid playing a stereotype. Instead he portrayed Shylock as a quiet and controlled man. In contrast, Antonio, played by Michael Joseph Mitchell, was full of anti-Semitic fervor, by turns spitting and crossing himself. Even with Bassanio, a friend for whom he was willing to lose his life, Antonio appeared incapable of genuine emotional connection. As a result, when Antonio and Shylock faced each other in the courtroom, the audience was compelled to side with the person who appeared both level-headed and sympathetic: Shylock.

Although Merchant can be a play in which, as Rice claimed in a local newspaper...