THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
at Trinity Shakespeare Festival
June 13 - July 1, 2012
Scenic Design by Brian Clinnin
Costumes by Aaron Patrick Turner DeClerk
Lighting by Michael Skinner
Sound by Toby Algya
Production Photography by Amy Peterson
D Magazine names MERCHANT OF VENICE one of the best productions of 2012.
TheaterJones names MERCHANT OF VENICE one of the best productions of 2012.
Criticalrant.com names MERCHANT OF VENICE one of the best productions of 2012.
"Chilling, dark, and oh-so-good." - D Magazine
"One of those poignant, understated, transcendent stage moments theatre lovers hunger for but don’t often get to experience" - Alexandra Bonifield - criticalrant.com
"TRINITY SHAKESPEARE HITS SECOND HOME RUN WITH THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: Director Stephen Fried creates a provocative mood piece that is visually stunning, thanks to Brian Clinnin’s shadowy set ... and Michael Skinner’s simple, but beautifully executed lights, in a production that is acted with polished verse. Fried’s success with the material comes as no surprise. The director delivered the best live Shakespeare I have ever seen as a critic (Much Ado About Nothing at Trinity), and helmed last year’s superb Macbeth." - M. Lance Lusk - D Magazine
"The production roils and seethes with inner repressed outrage and anguish, reflecting the frozen emotion exploding off the panoramic painting floating above... J. Brent Alford steers away from a stereotypical depiction of Shylock the Jew, and makes him a tangibly real man. Under Stephen Fried’s direction he manages to both repel the audience with his outrageous greed and vengefulness yet elicit their sympathy for the crushing life blows he receives. Chuck Huber, perfectly cast as Portia’s suitor Bassanio, defines a man consumed with guilt, whose heart has led his head and caused a true friend to suffer horrific consequences. Richard Haratine as the merchant Antonio...undergoes one of the most beautiful acting transformations I have witnessed on stage." - Alexandra Bonifield - criticalrant.com
"TRINITY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL CAPTURES BOTH SIDES OF THE MERCHANT OF VENICE:The Merchant of Venice might be Shakespeare’s most sharply divided play. Stephen Fried’s production for Trinity Shakespeare Festival makes that beautifully clear" - Lawson Taitte - The Dallas Morning News