Submitted by M. Z. Maher, Feb 22, 2007 18:47

I never saw JEW OF MALTA, I admit. But in all my years of theater-going, I have never seen a finer portrayal of Shylock. The humanity of the character was beautifully nuanced, as is Shakespeare's text. You thought him conniving, money-grubbing, clever and at the same time, touching, pitiful, and horribly wronged. I did like Dustin Hoffman's portrayal in London a few years ago--and Pacino does beautifully in the film, despite a butchered text.

But the critic here is missing a masterful job of acting in F. Murray Abraham's work. It was also accomplished without much help from a rather callow college-level supporting cast. That shows a real professional at work--maintaining the tragic and human qualities of the victim and yet his own dignity onstage almost by himself. I thought it was brilliant, and an attempt by a law professor to encapsulate the many layers of prejudice in Shakespeare's play while overlooking the center of the centrifugal force in this production is small-minded and demonstrates that he hasn't seen very many Shylocks. We are lucky to have Abraham in the ranks of classical actors in the U.S. This production demonstrates why.

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