T.R. Knight to Join Off-Broadway Cast of The Merchant of Venice

Arlekin Players Theatre has announced that T.R. Knight will join the cast of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, which is set to begin preview at Classic Stage Company on November 22 ahead of an official opening night on November 25.

Knight will play Antonio, the title character, who in this production is described as “the ring-leader and emcee, who encourages the live audience to laugh, sing along, boo, and ultimately face the surprising, tragic twist of an ending.” In the play, Antonio secures a loan on behalf of his friend, Bassanio, who needs it to woo a potential bride. He goes to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, who demands as collateral a “pound of flesh” should Antonio not be able to repay the debt — which, of course, he cannot. How will Venetian law clean up this mess?

Igor Golyak directs the production, which reframes the story in “a nightclub environment akin to a late-night comedy show.” As previously announced, Richard Topol will play Shylock and Alexandra Silber will play Portia.

Topol and Silber are currently starring in Our Class, Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s drama about Poland in the 20th century as experienced by the members of one elementary school class. Read TheaterMania’s review of Our Class.

Several other members of the Our Class ensemble will join them in Merchant. The cast includes Gus Birney (Jessica/Ensemble), Tess Goldwyn (Nerisa/Ensemble), José Espinosa (Bassanio/Ensemble), Stephen Ochsner (Launcelot Gobbo/Ensemble), Delilah Napier (understudy), Noah Pacht (Lorenzo/ensemble), and Elan Zafir (understudy).

The Merchant of Venice has scenic design by Jan Pappelbaum, costume and props design by Sasha Ageeva, lighting design by Seth Reiser, and sound design by Fedor Zhuravlev, who has also composed music for the production. Golyak is designing projections. Kyra Bowie is the production stage manager.