Grey's Anatomy star T.R. Knight will co-star as Antonio in the upcoming revival of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice at Off-Broadway's Classic Stage Company, part of its Arlekin in Residency series. The production will begin November 22 ahead of a November 25 opening night, continuing through December 22.
He joins a previously announced cast that includes Richard Topol as Shylock and Alexandra Silber as Portia, plus Gus Birney, José Espinosa, Tess Goldwyn, and Stephen Ochsner. Also newly joining the company are Delilah Napier, Noah Pacht, and Elan Zafir.
The production is adapted and helmed by Ukrainian-born director Igor Golyak. The production will feature scenic design by Jan Pappelbaum (of the Schaubuehne), costume and prop design by Sashaa Ageeva, lighting design by Seth Reiser, and sound design and music by Fedor Zhuraviev. Kyra Bowie will be production stage manager.
The Merchant of Venice is being co-presented by Sofia Kapkova/MART Foundation, and executive produced by Sara Stackhouse/Arlekin Players Theatre.
"The first Quarto published in 1600 titled this play The most excellent historie of the merchant of Venice with the extreame crueltie of Shylocke the Jewe towards the sayd merchant, in cutting a just pound of his flesh: and the obtayning of Portia by the choyse of three chests. That’s a mouthful,” says Golyak in a statement. “It casts Shylock as a cruel villain and sets the expectation of a love story, a comedy, and a ruinous tragedy all wrapped into one. We are true to this in our production and we deliver all of it—an undercurrent of bias, a comedy, romance, action, and escapades—a real romp of a performance. But antisemitism is a light sleeper, and as the story plays out, it inevitably awakens and the result is devastating. It mirrors who we are, the times we live in, and how quickly the tides can turn. It’s a wild ride."
The show is the second in CSC's Arlekin in Residency series, which began with Our Class, currently running at the Off-Broadway theatre through November 3. That production arrived at CSC after a run at BAM earlier this year.
Tickets for The Merchant of Venice are available by clicking here.
