Review "Merchant on Venice," Windy City Times, October 10, 2007
September 15–November 8, 2007
Written by Shishir Kurup
Directed by Stuart Carden
In Shishir Kurup’s Merchant on Venice, Venice, Italy intersects with L.A.’s Venice Boulevard in a wickedly funny, wildly inventive and politically provocative re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Written in iambic pentameter and vividly colored by Indian, American and Latino pop references, playwright Kurup transforms Shakespeare’s original by injecting the story with Bollywood musical numbers, L.A. Punk, Hindu-Muslim tensions, and a distinctly American landscape.
Sharuk | Anish Jethmalani*
Armando | Gerardo Cardenas
Devendra | Kamal Hans
Shivanandra, Rasik, The Pujari and Understudy Sharuk | Vincent P. Mahler
Jitendra | Andy Nagraj
Amithaba | Marvin Quihada
Noorani | Sadieh Rifai
Kavita | Amira Sabbagh
Yogananda, Murali, Butcher | Madrid St. Angelo
Pushpa | Pranidhi Varshney
Tooranpoi, S.A.B.U. Rep, Toufiq, Aravind | Tariq Vasudeva
Understudy for Noorani | Dipika Cherala
Understudy for Pushpa, Kavita | Minita Gandhi
Understudy for Shiva, Yoga, Devendra | Arvin Jalandoon
Understudy for Armando, Amithaba, Jitendra | Julian Martinez
Understudy for Tooranpoi, S.A.B.U. Rep, Toufiq, Aravind | Collin Tongue
*Member of Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
Producer | Malik Gillani
Producer | Jamil Khoury
Playwright | Shishir Kurup
Director | Stuart Carden
Choreographer | Alka Nayyar
Production Manager | Alexandra Herryman
Stage Manager | Benjamin D. Herman
Scenic Designer | Lee Keenan
Costume Designer | Carol J. Blanchard
Lighting Designer | Rebecca A. Barrett
Sound Designer and Original Music | Robert Steel
Props Designer | Daniel Pellant
Dialect Coach | Eva Breneman
Production Dramaturg | Lavina Jadhwani
Casting | Adam Silver, Silver Casting Ltd.
Technical Director | Charles Ziggy Olson
Assistant Director | Jamie Abelson
Assistant Production Manager | Isaac Sernoffsky
Assistant Stage Manager | Amber Mack
Assistant to Costume Designer | Izumi Inaba
Wardrobe Supervisor | Cara M. Cusano
Carpenter | Adam Cobb
Publicity Consultant | Cathy Taylor Public Relations
Community Outreach Coordinator | Kant Desai
Community Outreach Coordinator | Faruk Menguc
Community Outreach Coordinator | Megha Ralapati
Production Intern | Daniel Katz
Management Intern | Laura Klauser
Box Office Manager | Todd Lauterbach
House Manager | Christine Nelson
Video Production Services | The Stage Channel
Gay Chicago Magazine's 2008 After Dark Award
Awarded to Shishir Kurup for Outstanding Adaptation
Review "Merchant on Venice/Silk Road Theatre Project," New City Stage, October 4, 2007
Review "Bold ‘Merchant’ melds Bard, Bollywood," Chicago Tribune, October 8, 2007
