STAGE TUBE: Promo Video for Gallery Players' THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Players' Shakespeare: Onstage is proud to present William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice which will open July 18th and run through August 4th. Dominic Cuskern(Inherit the Wind, A Perfect Ganesh), Broadway veteran and long-standing member of the Pearl Theatre Resident Acting Company, stars as Shylock. Returning to Gallery, David PatRick Ford (Macbeth, Othello) will play Antonio opposite Cuskern. Gallery President and admired Director Mark Harborth (Noises Off, Chess, Othello, Dreamgirls) will again direct. Bringing the play to life under Harborth's direction are Lighting Designer Scott A. Calley, Sound Designer Jacob Subotnick, Costume Designer/Asst. Director Sidney Fortner, Stage Manager Becky J. Doster and Producer Frankie Dailey. The cast will include Erin Beirnard as Portia, Hunter Hoffman as Bassanio, Louis Lavoie as Launcelot, as well as J.B. Alexander, Kevin Blackwelder, Colin Dweir, Cara Farlow, Jonathan Green, Luke Hofmaier, Mark Kinch, Zack Krajnyak, Chris Richards, Louise Stewart.

Performances will take place at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as 3:00 pm on Sunday. Tickets are $18 for Adults, $14 for senior citizens and children 12 and under. The Gallery Players will also host a "Pay What You Can" night on Monday, July 22nd at 7:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased 24/7 online at www.galleryplayers.com or by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101 (phone hours 9-9 weekdays, 10-6 weekends).

The Gallery Players is located at 199, 14th Street, between 4th and 5th Aves. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Merchant of Veniceis an Actors Equity Association showcase.

The Merchant of Venice, written in 1596-97, is Shakespeare's great play about differences: religious, economic, racial and cultural. Set as an Italian Renaissance fairy tale, Director Mark Harborth shows two worlds in collision - that of Antonio and of Shylock. Perhaps more than any other of his plays, Shakespeare dramatizes the issues of modern society - issues of race, anti-Semitism, and living on the margins both culturally and economically. This candid comedy speaks to us across four centuries with humor, passion, disguises, twists and turns. It is revived continually because of its relevance to our world which is paradoxically evermore socially, religiously, financially and politically polarized in this electronic age.