PORTLAND SHAKESPEARE PROJECT
Michael Mendelson – Artistic Director
Karen Rathje – Managing Director
The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
In a Modern Verse Translation
by Elise Thoron
July 10 to July 20, 2025
VENUE
Portland Playhouse
602 NE Prescott
Porland, Oregon 97211
Just like home: A ‘Merchant of Venice’ that feels like here and now
… is this Merchant a comedy, after all?
For me, the answer came at the end, which I won’t reveal. I’ll just say that after the usual pairings-off in Act V, we get an extra scene that is a small, beautiful and devastating moment with the power to shake our preconceptions about this complex play …
Read the Full Review Oregon Artwatch By Linda Ferguson
Photos by David Kinder
Cast
Shylock
Portia
Antonio
Lorenzo
Bassanio
Garciano, Arragon
Jessica
Morrocco, Duke of Venice
Tubal, Gobbe
Nerissa
Launcelot
Leonardo, Messenger, Serving Man
Balthazar, Salarino
Gavin Hoffman*
Annie Leonard
Emily Sahler
Dylan Hankins
Brave
Matt Sunderland
Olivia Mathews
Henry Noble*
Jon Lee
Elizabeth Jackson
Zeb Bodine
Maryellen Wood
Alannah Walker
*Member, Actors’ Equity Association,
the Union of Professional Actors and
Stage Managers in the United States.
Artistic and Production
Director
Production Manager
Production Assistant
Stage Manager
Set and Props Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Costume Designer
Avital Shira
Thyra Hartshorn
Amelia Grissom
Hayley Lamsma
Alex Meyer
Thyra Hartshorn
Kyle Colgan
Anya Jones
The Merchant of Venice is a comedy/tragedy set in Italy. It is centered around love, money, prejudice, and social injustice.
Shylock asks for a pound of flesh as part of a loan contract; Bassonio agrees to it, and Portia saves the day by disguising her identity and pretending to practice the law.
No one dies, although Shylock loses his money, his property, and his religion.
The Merchant of Venice is a comedy, but it forces us to consider antisemitism and racism then and now.