Review Roundup: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is one of Shakespeare's most thrilling and controversial plays, rich with love and betrayal, forgiveness and revenge. The Jewish moneylender Shylock makes a loan to Antonio, a Christian merchant. Their loan contract, steeped in prejudice and centered on the play's infamous "pound of flesh," sweeps the two men and everyone in their worlds into chaos. Only the insightful Portia can imagine a way forward, but for her and those she loves, even "the quality of mercy" has its limits.

Al Pacino (Shylock), Lily Rabe (Portia), Byron Jennings (Antonio), Jesse L. Martin (Gratiano), Gerry Bamman (Duke of Venice), Heather Lind (Jessica), Matthew Rauch (Solanio), and Richard Topol (Tubal) reprise their roles in this acclaimed production. New cast members who have joined the Broadway company include Marsha Stephanie Blake (Nerissa), Christopher Fitzgerald (Launcelot Gobbo), David Harbour (Bassanio), Peter Francis James (Salerio), Isaiah Johnson (Prince of Morocco), Charles Kimbrough (Prince of Arragon), and Seth Numrich (Lorenzo).

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: Giving what promise to be the performances of this season, Lily Rabe, as Portia the heiress, and Al Pacino, as Shylock the usurer, invest the much-parsed trial scene of this fascinating, irksome work with a passion and an anger that purge it of preconceptions. You may find yourself trembling, as one often does when something scary and baffling starts to make sense. At the same time, you're likely to have trouble figuring out exactly where your sympathies lie. For at this moment, everybody hurts.

Elisabeth Vincentelli, NY Post: As the Jewish moneylender Shylock, one of theater's most complex, reviled roles, Pacino has made The Public Theater "Merchant of Venice" a blockbuster hit -- first in Central Park this summer, now on Broadway for a limited run. Yet it's Rabe who leaves a lasting impression. Bringing illuminating insights to the headstrong heiress Portia, the young actress is the production's real treasure. 

Elysa Gardner, USA Today:  It's difficult to imagine a Shakespeare play posing more challenges to a modern audience than The Merchant of Venice. And it's even harder to envision a production that overcomes those challenges more sensitively or thrillingly than the new Merchant (* * * * out of four) that opened Saturday at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre.

Scott Brown, New York Magazine: Ah, but then again, re-scaling any enterprise (mercantile, hegemonic, or theatrical) has its risks, as director Daniel Sullivan can surely attest: In transfiguring his reflective, near-perfect Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merchant of Venice for a lucrative Broadway run, he's taken no big gambles, just a bunch of small ones. Some of these pay off richly; others go quietly bust, and occasionally threaten malaise. The question that hangs over the show is a familiar one, to directors and presidents both: Should I have done more? Or less? Or is this the best anyone could hope for, given The Situation?

David Rooney, Reuters/Hollywood Reporter: Transferred to Broadway's Broadhurst Theater after becoming the hot ticket of the summer in Central Park, the production is anchored by performances of penetrating intelligence from Al Pacino and Lily Rabe. As the Jewish moneylender Shylock and heiress Portia, respectively, they are the most lucid observers of a mercenary world.

Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal: When I reviewed The Public Theater's Central Park production of "The Merchant of Venice" back in June, I said that it might well end up on Broadway, and that it deserved to. This has now happened, and the main reason for the transfer is, needless to say, the presence of Al Pacino in the cast. Even so, what was true six months ago is true today: Mr. Pacino is a galvanic Shylock, but this "Merchant" would be more than good enough to play on Broadway no matter who was in the title role.

Linda Winer, Newsday: People may be clawing their way into "The Merchant of Venice" to look deep into the thousand-year-old-eyes of Al Pacino's harrowing, yet beautifully restrained Shylock on Broadway. And rightly so. But what theatergoers will also experience - call it collateral advantage - is one of the most gripping, haunting and lucid examples of that elusive, often maligned ideal, American Shakespeare without...

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