Review Southwest Shakespeare :The Merchant of Venice

Last Saturday at the The Mesa Arts Center in the Nesbitt/Elliott Playhouse, I saw a timeless Shakespeare play: The Merchant of Venice. From the Green Show beforehand, "The Merchant Named Dennis" and the Directors Orientation, I had very high expectations.

The theatre itself was very professional, but I would expect nothing else from The Mesa Arts Center.

The music in the theatre while we were seated was modern pop songs done in 1920's flapper style, it was perfect for setting the stage for the out-of-time story we were about to experience.

I was unfamiliar with this play and no one could give me a straight answer as to whether it was a comedy, drama, or anti-semitic or really place it in any clean genre. Now I know why.

It's a dramatic story baked inside of a rather hilarious comedy.

The director, Kent Burnham, set story in the 1929, in New York and the Hamptons. The stage curtains were left open and characters were left on stage. Any time they changed their outer clothes they took them from the set, eventually leaving the mannequins, that adorned the stage naked and bare. The practice was effective in making it feel less and more intimate at the same time. .
The language of money, as the director pointed out in his orientation, was very apparent throughout the show. Worth, sum, business, gross, full debt, merchant - all words over used in this piece. Everything seems to come back to money in this play.

The story is pretty straight forward and you think it will resolve itself in a Much Ado about Nothing type of way. However, the seemingly unimportant B plot takes the center stage in the pivotal courtroom scene, and the tragic aspect of the play comes out full force.

The whole cast was amazing, very entertaining and engaging. I have nothing bad to say about them.

David Dickerson played multiple roles. He was funny and entertaining as each individual character.
Alison Campell, who played Portia, was great. She was likable with a movie star quality in her flapper wig and costume.
Keath David Hall who played Gratiano and Megan Lindsay who played Nerissa were the quirky sidekicks that really stood out.
But, honestly, the entire cast had such a grasp of the bard's language that I was left nearly forgetting that poetic Shakespearean vernacular wasn't how people talked all time.

I repeat, the acting was incredibly good.

The costumes were spot on, with everyone looking very 1920's fabulous.

I don't think the use of aisles and balconies was necessary, but it did give some dimension to the play. (Working at a theatre in the round, I understand the use of the entire theatre is enticing.)

Over all, Southwest Shakespeare did an incredible job with this show. Part of me loves it because it's so funny and ridiculous and the other part of me hates it for the tragic lack of mercy or understanding the characters show. All characters are flawed. You feel a cruel empathy rather than sympathy for a mans death.

Shylocks is awful but so is everyone else he deals with. They mock him and he hates them. It makes me sad because as much as we brag about how far we've come from Shakespeare's time of prejudice - and we brag about it...a lot, we still miss the point!
If we could just take a lesson from this unorthodox story: Shylock refused to show mercy and was therefore shown no mercy when the table was turned on him.

If he had simply taken the money and been satisfied, there would be no tragic ending to this story. But the blame doesn't end there. Antonio didn't take his opportunity to show mercy either, neither did his friends, the judge, the lawyers, (really Portia and Nerissa in disguise) none of them. If even one person had shown mercy to another, then this would be a happy romantic comedy and not the ambiguous genre-less story it is. But, bottom line, when people refuse to show love and/or mercy, the result is always tragic.

The character Jessica closes the show with a morose song while behind her, her now estranged and penniless father makes a tragedy out of the play you've just been laughing at for 2 hours. Not gonna lie it leaves you with an odd feeling.

Anyway, my philosophical rant aside, Southwest Shakespeare has some unbelievable talent! I can see now why everyone raves about them.
If you're looking for incredibly well done Shakespeare, I highly recommend you catch one of their shows this season.
And be sure to come early and see the Green Show. Trust me, you'll love it! Although I may never get the song It's Hard to be the Bard out of my head... Oh well.

Tell me what you think of my review.
What's your favorite Shakespeare play?