Friday, June 2, 2023

Merchant of Venice
Syracuse Shakespeare-in-the-Park

Price: $30 premium, free regular (donations requested)
Thornden Park Amphitheater
Ostrom Ave., Syracuse

Antonio, an antisemitic merchant, takes a loan from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, to help his friend, Bassanio, court Portia, Renaissance lady of Venice. Antonio can't repay the loan, and without mercy, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now Bassanio's wife, dresses as a judge in an attempt to save Antonio's life. Will she succeed or will Antonio lose a pound of flesh?

SSITP is presenting Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice using an all-female identifying cast. This concept allows us to expand the issues of bias and prejudice suffered by the characters in the play to comment upon contemporary struggles with racism, profiling, and gender bias.