Saul Rubinek to Star in PLAYING SHYLOCK at Polonsky Shakespeare Center

Saul Rubinek will make a long-anticipated return to the stage in the New York premiere of Playing Shylock at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, home of Theatre for a New Audience. Performances will begin on  October 16, with Opening Night set for October 23. The production will run through December 7, 2025.

Playing Shylock promises to be one of the most talked-about theatrical events of the season, directed by Martin Kinch and written by playwright Mark Leiren-Young.

After a production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is cancelled mid-performance because of public outcries about antisemitism, the actor playing Shylock (Rubinek, as a version of himself) asks how we are to share our common humanity when we are not able to share our stories with each other. The production, fresh off an extended successful run in Canada, delivers a candid and passionate appeal about identity, public discourse, and the theatre.

“Art has never been more essential than it is right now,” says Saul Rubinek. “Theatre remains one of the last places where we come together to confront hard truths, to listen, to laugh, and to feel. Playing Shylock is my way of leaning into that urgency— of using the stage to spark connection when we need it most.”

“We asked ourselves — can we talk about antisemitism and cancel culture at a time when no one else is talking about it. Can we do it live on stage while engaging in a true conversation with the audience? Can we make it moving? Important?  And f-ing hilarious?” says Corey Ross, CEO of Starvox Entertainment. “And the answer is yes.”

Rubinek is known for his critically acclaimed roles in series such as Frasier, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hunters, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Schitt’s Creek, as well as iconic films including Wall Street, Against All Odds, Unforgiven, True Romance, The Family Man, and the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

A beloved veteran of stage and screen, Rubinek began his performing career in Ontario at the age of eight. He joined the Stratford Festival company in 1968–69, becoming its youngest member at the time, and in 1972 played a pivotal role in launching the inaugural season of Toronto Free Theatre — now part of Canadian Stage. These early beginnings laid the foundation for a remarkable body of work that bridges classic theatre and contemporary screen.

Rubinek’s artistic journey is deeply rooted in his heritage: born in a post-WWII refugee camp in Germany, where his father ran a Yiddish repertory theatre company, storytelling has always been central to his life. His most recent stage appearance was in A Play Is a Poem, written by Ethan Coen, which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2019. Plans for a New York transfer were halted due to the pandemic, making Rubinek’s latest stage role — Playing Shylock — a long-anticipated and triumphant return.

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