Article: 9558; Posted: April 8, 2015 at 12:00 p.m.

Director Alexander Trice and his Slipstream Theatre Initiative colleagues take many risks in their production of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” Like the vessels belonging to the title character, some ships come in and some don’t.

The biggest departure from convention is an adaptation that eliminates a subplot or two and a handful of characters, including the tedious Gobbos—Launcelot and Old. What remains is a slimmed-down, sort of “greatest hits” version that runs 1:35 with no intermission. The big speeches and big moments are preserved, and while the abridgement is refreshing, some of the other innovations don’t quite pay off.

Here, Shylock is played by a woman, Tricia Turek, as a woman. Not as radical as it seems: I’ve seen Prospero played by a woman as a woman, and Richard III played by a woman as a man. I know (because she told me) that Sarah Colley, before she became Minnie Pearl, played Bottom at her all-women’s college.

This is one of those ships that don’t come in, but non-traditional casting isn’t the stumbling block. Dressed snappily in a suit, with business-like accoutrements, Turek blends in with the all the other businessmen on stage: Ryan Ernest as Antonio, Brenton Herwat as Bassanio, Richard Payton as a composite of their compadres. Director Trice and, I’m guessing, Slipstream artistic director Bailey Boudreau may be going for subtext: instead of the Jew as the outsider, it’s the woman. But the text clearly says it’s the Jew; this is a problem.

More problematic is that while the principal actors say their lines with clarity, they generally don’t convey their feelings in other ways. The mutual animosity between Shylock and the rest of the business community is stated, but not really demonstrated. The same goes for the infatuation and love between Bassanio and Portia (Victoria Rose Weatherspoon).

The actors have more success with some of the smaller parts. Kaitlyn Valor Bourque is appealing as gum-chewing, spoiled rich girl Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, whose running away with the Christian Lorenzo (Graham Todd) and her mother’s jewelry comes off as believable adolescent behavior. Sarah Wilder, as Nerissa, Portia’s servant and friend, takes palpable delight in Portia’s clever accomplishments and rocks in a suit and big cigar in the courtroom scene.

Visually, Slipstream’s “Merchant” is appealing. As production designer and costume designer, respectively, Trice and Bailey do impressive work, turning the commercial hub that was 16th century Venice into the floor of a stock exchange, with power-suited people jockeying for advantage. And they’ve made Portia’s country estate look like the patio of an Italian restaurant, complete with strings of little white lights.

For an extra treat, before the show read the sign on the set piece that looks like a food truck: brewed coffee is 5 ducats, French press is 10.

The quality of this “Merchant” is mixed, but Slipstream is a company with ideas and enthusiasm. It isn’t strictly a Shakespeare company but its upcoming production is an all-female “Hamlet.” Sounds promising.

SHOW DETAILS:
The Merchant of Venice
Michigan Actors Studio
648 East 9 Mile, Ferndale
Sundays (4/5, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26)
Tuesdays (4/7, 4/14, 4/21, 4/28)
Wednesdays (4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29)
Thursdays (4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 4/30)
All performances at 7:00 p.m.
Price: $10
248.298.9617
www.SlipstreamTI.com