Porters of Hellsgate Presents THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, 8/12-9/18

Continuing their fifth season in the summer of 2011, The Porters of Hellsgate return to The Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Complex in North Hollywood with William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Taking liberty with time and place, The Porters explore race, class, sexuality and wealth for their six-week run of the Bard's ultimately tragic comedy.

It begins on February 14, 1961 at the NYSE, where we find Antonio overcome with  sadness undefinable. Despite his lack of liquid assets, he agrees to help his dear friend Bassanio by use of his credit to obtain a loan so that he may travel to Belmont to court the wealthy heiress, Portia. Their last resort and unlikely benefactor is discovered in the rich Jew, Shylock, who offers to take their loan on one condition: that should they fail to pay back the sum within three months, the Jew may take a pound of Antonio's flesh to settle the loan... The Porters of Hellsgate were formed in late 2006 by Edward Castuera, Jack Leahy and Charles Pasternak. Their inaugural production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar opened at the end of that year. Since then the Porters have produced ten more Shakespearean productions: Twelfth Night ('07), Richard III ('07), Titus Andronicus ('07), Two Gentlemen of Verona ('07/'08), Much Ado About Nothing ('08), Macbeth ('08), Love's Labour's Lost ('08), Richard II ('09), Hamlet ('10), and The Comedy of Errors (‘10). They have also produced Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ('10, in rep with Hamlet), an original work, Deity Clutch (originally produced in '10, then remounted for the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival), penned by Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger, and earlier this year, the world premiere of a new translation of Oedipus the Tyrant ('11), translated by resident artist Jamey Hecht, Ph.D. In 2010, Artistic Director Charles Pasternak was awarded "Shakespeare Performance of the Year" by StageSceneLA for his performance in the title role of Hamlet in The Porters' production of The Bard's timeless tragedy (which also received a "GO!" from the LA Weekly). 

The Merchant of Venice opens Friday, August 12th, 2011, at 8pm. The production will run Friday
and Saturday nights at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm, through Sunday, September 18th, 2011, closing the six-week run. Presented at, The Whitmore Theatre
11006 Magnolia Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91601

Tickets are $20, $15 for students/seniors 60+/AEA.
Reservations are available online via Brown Paper Tickets.
(Designated URL at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/187159).