By Craig Mustoe

Grassroots Shakespeare Company is a troupe of local actors which produces the Bard’s plays “in the park.” Their own website says it best: “Grassroots Shakespeare Company is a collaborative touring ensemble of multidisciplinary artists who create joyous, vibrant productions inspired by Shakespeare’s original staging techniques. Through open-air performances…we produce and promote genuinely engaging, popular, and relevant theatre.”

There is no director for the plays; they are collaborative ventures. The players only rehearse for three days. They carry their stage from place to place, often tearing down each night. They adapt the script to make it understandable to anyone from about age ten up.  Grassroots Shakespeare Company encourages audience participation, so come prepared to cheer, boo, and hiss; bring a few items to throw at those who displease you if you wish, or improvise on the spot. Feel free to throw in a bon mot or two to liven things up. Just be careful, for they may lampoon you right back.

The Merchant of Venice is a serious tragedy, no doubt. But they infuse every play with their inimitable brand of humor. Sorry for the cliché, but this production will make you laugh and it will make you cry.

An improvident young man, Bassanio (Jacob Chapman), wishes to woo beautiful and rich Portia (Amber Dodge Tinney); lack of funds is a serious impediment to his proceeding. He goes to his friend and erstwhile financial savior, a ready-moneyed local businessman about town. Antonio (Ardon Smith) is temporarily broke but offers his bond so that Bassanio may borrow from the local Jewish money-lender.

Bassanio goes to Shylock, (Davey Morrison Dillard) to borrow, citing Antonio’s offer. Shylock hates Antonio for sundry reasons: Antonio is a Christian who has mocked and reviled Shylock because he is a Jew, and he loans money at no interest, which hurts Shylock’s business. (The anti-Semitism throughout the play is rather shocking to a modern audience and brought not a few boos.) Shylock is happy to loan the money at no interest on one condition: if the loan is not paid back on time Shylock may take a pound of Antonio’s flesh.

A lot of folderol and foolishness ensues with the usual girls-pretending-to-be-boys and a lot of courting, elopement, and general romantic intrigue.  These are Shakespeare’s classic comedic stock-in-trade. Although the play was originally listed as a comedy, its serious aspects have led scholars to classify it as a tragicomedy. One of the many highlights of the play was Jessamyne Smith, a GSC regular, was thrown in as Narissa at the last minute as the regular actor was in London. Though Smith carried a script, she used it as a prop, and with the humor and professionalism she clearly possesses, she carries of her time onstage magnificently. Jessica Myer as the mincing lover to Antonio is hilariously darling.

At the end of the play we get back to the point. Antonio has not been able to repay the loan as his ships have not come in. Shylock goes to the law and they all convene in court. You would have to have been in a coma (or living in Ely) not to have heard of the “pound of flesh nearest the heart” that Shylock claims. I’ll not spoil it, but the climax is heart-rending. You must not miss it. It is the most moving moment of any I have seen from Grassroots, and Morrison Dillard deserves all the credit.

In the denouement everyone lives happily ever after—except one.

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The rest of the company does their usual hilarious best. I recommend this show to tweens and up. There is so much going on, you will stay entertained. You may want to read up on the play if you’re not familiar with it. Shakespeare is—well, Shakespeare.

Do not miss this production. Morrison Dillard has been a huge part of why GSC has done so well and he will be leaving the company to go to grad school. He will be missed.

Grassroots Shakespeare Company presents The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, and The Fantasticks.

Summer Tour Finale (Triple Header)

Friday and Saturdsay – July 7 & 8

Castle Amphitheatre, 1300 East Center Street, Provo, UT 84606 (If you’ve never been to this venue, go all the way up Center Street to the roundabout, go around it and turn north. Turn slightly to the right up the hill. Unless you get there really early, don’t even bother trying to find parking at the top of the hill. Just park and walk up.)
Tickets: $15.00
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