Created in collaboration with composer Daniel Arthur
Dive into a bold reimagining of Shakespeare's most controversial play, adapted as a musical for the first time. Witness this dark comedy created by emerging artists and featuring entirely original songs.
Inspired by the Shakespearean play, Merchant of Venice: The Musical takes place in 16th-century Venice. It's about Antonio, a merchant, and his friend Bassanio, a man who wishes to woo an heiress named Portia. To help Bassanio impress Portia with a display of wealth, Antonio makes a deal with Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, despite his distrust of the Jewish population. When Antonio is unable to pay back his loan, Shylock decides that it's time to mistreat Antonio in the same way both he and his people have been mistreated for years.
Production and Development History
Staged Reading, Amaranth Turtle Stages, November 2024
Workshop, Amaranth Turtle Stages, November 2023
Staged Reading, Celebrate Centerstage Fundraiser, Centerstage Theatre, May 2023
Workshop, First Impressions New Works group, Centerstage Theatre, January 2023
Staged Reading, UNO Playwrights' Festival, University of New Orleans, September 2019
Workshop, Creative Writing Workshop, University of New Orleans, April-May 2018 and August-December 2019
“I think the music and book meld wonderfully. I never thought 'A song doesn’t belong here'... In general, my response is always 'Oh, cool!”
“I think you’ve got something really worthwhile that is likely to have a future life. It’s engaging and fun, and it does justice to the original, while giving it new relevance.”
“The musical in many ways gave a new voice to numerous characters that never had the spotlight, especially Shylock and his daughter Jessica, highlighting the numerous atrocities committed. against Jewish people. It was astonishing to me how this often hated character has so many reasons not to be hated. The reason he expressed hatred was also depicted beautifully.”
“My first thought, halfway through Act One was, I want to go out to the lobby at intermission and buy the soundtrack. The music grabbed me from the very first number and never let me go.”
“What a moving experience... It's powerful and novel, despite the old source material. I loved the music. I loved the recasting of so many elements of the original play... I came away with a new take on the original and this version, that Shylock is the only character who is entirely honest. I am glad to have been told this story, and prefer it to the original. Humans can be so cruel to other humans. And they can be loving too.”
"The villains are great characters in showing their duplicity and hypocrisy with self-interest above all. I am even identifying with them as I realize my own flaws and colonizer/patriarchal heritage."
"Despite the limited staging, I felt calling it just a reading was not appropriate, because it felt as passionate and true as any musical I have seen live or in movies."