Thursday, October 1, 2026
Free Shakespeare in the Park is a quintessential New York City summer experience. If you are able to obtain tickets by standing in a queue or winning an online lottery, you are fortunate, indeed. On a glorious, starlit evening with the outline of Belvedere Castle in the background, nothing could be more idyllic.
This summer, The Delacorte Theater is offering two plays in repertory, The Merchant of Venice and The Winter’s Tale. Although the majority of the actors perform in both plays, Ruben Santiago- Hudson and Linda Emond only appear in The Winter’s Tale and Al Pacino and Lily Rabe only appear in Merchant.
In Merchant, a Jewish moneylender (Pacino) gives a loan of 3000 ducats to Antonio, a Venetian merchant (Byron Jennings.) When Antonio defaults on the money, Shylock petitions the court for the penalty, a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Despite the darkness and anti- Semitic references, the play is considered a comedy, albeit a dark one
The obvious attraction for many non-Shakespeare fans in the audience is Al Pacino, one of best actors in filmdom. Pacino’s depiction is unsettling and one-sided. It’s hard to feel any sympathy for him, even when his own daughter robs him and converts to Christianity. The audience doesn’t even feel for him later when he is forcibly baptized and manhandled by his Christian “converters.” Perhaps it is in part because Antonio, his adversary is played by Bryon Jennings, a tall stately man with genteel ways. Under the direction of the skilled Daniel Sullivan, Shylock has no redeeming qualities. Even though wronged and perhaps somewhat justified in his anger, Pacino makes it hard for us to care about Shylock. His accent is more Italian than Jewish and he speaks in a strange cadence. As the play progresses, the 5’7” actor shrinks in size, and by the final scenes he walks onstage appearing like some of the disturbing caricatures on German WWII posters. Although the disappointing Pacino gets the final bow, the linchpin of the show is Lily Rabe in her marvelous portrayal of Portia, the young lawyer who saves Antonio. Tall and beautiful, Rabe is regal during her impassioned speeches. She has fine comic delivery and a wonderfully dulcet speaking voice.
The show has a strong supporting cast, and TV watchers will recognize familiar faces in the ensemble. Jesse L. Williams gives a strong performances as Gratiano Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“ Modern Family”) has a brief role as the comic servant , and Hamish Linklater (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) makes a charming Bassanio.
A few nights later, I saw A Winter’s Tale, a dark play about redemption and forgiveness. Despite the offstage deaths of two characters , the play is considered a romance. King Leontes (Santiago-Hudson) becomes irrationally jealous of his childhood friend, King Polixenes (Jesse Williams.) Leontes accuses his pregnant wife of infidelity and treason, asserting that the child she’s bearing is not his. His jealousy starts a whole chain of disastrous events between the two kingdoms. Hermione is imprisoned where she gives birth to a baby girl, and the king demands the baby be taken away and left to die. Although the oracle has declared Hermione innocent, the king refuses to accept it and is punished when his son dies. Fortunately, the baby girl, Perdita, is discovered and raised by a dumb shepherd (Max Wright) and his son. By the second act ,sixteen years have passed, and Perdita (the lovely Heather Lind) and King Polixenes’ son have fallen in love, a love forbidden by his father since she is so lowly in station. By the end , all reunite in what is basically a happy ending.
The first act is dark and drags a bit, although Santiago-Hudson does a fine job. He’s limited by the play and can really only be angry or contrite. Emond is stately as Hermione. The second act is much lighter with many comic moments. In their roles, Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays the comic foil of Hamish Linklater. Linklater is delightful as the thieving, wenching Autolycus who steals from Clown (Ferguson) who’s hysterical as the simple buffoon. Marianne Jean-Baptiste who plays as Portia’s maid in Merchant is dynamic here as Paulina, the arbiter and conscience of the king. Byron Jennings once again plays a wise gentlemanly character, this time Camillo, a Sicilian lord.
The Merchant of Venice is a difficult play and the character of Shylock has always been controversial. Pacino draws the audiences in, but Rabe really entrances them. Although Merchant is probably the better-known play, The Winter’s Tale is the more entertaining and enjoyable of the two. Its comedy is more broad, physical and lusty. The concept of reparatory, unique for the Public Theater, is fascinating for the viewer who is lucky enough to see both plays. Each of the two plays has its merits, but the true star of the evenings is Central Park- magnificent under a starlit sky!
