Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...The acting style is strikingly conversational — Abraham clearly wanted to be part of the whole, and the company achieves a casual and egalitarian fluidity of very rare clarity and consistency. The pivotal moment where Shylock decides to back off from that cruel bond is, to my mind, underplayed and given insufficient directorial focus here. But it's surely an intentional part of a generous yet compelling central performance that hones in on the notion that Shylock's partial self-corruption has undermined his moral center."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...It's amazing how some classical plays can take on a modern relevance when viewed against recent world events. Theatre of a New Audience's tour of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice starring Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham at the Bank of America Theatre is certainly entertainingly insightful example."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...Shakespeare's ambiguity toward anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice—the Christians win out in the end, after all—is disturbing. Audiences can instead focus on his appeal to human compassion and mercy over laws and agreements that are intended to ensure justice and fairness but which frequently fail to do so. "To do a great right, do a little wrong," we are instructed. The greatest wordsmith of the English language seems here to acknowledge the limitations of words. In a world seemingly dominated more than ever by financiers and lawyers, Tresnjak's modern dress staging makes the play resonant for contemporary audiences."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...If you can keep your eyes off the screens and on the actors, the production rewards you with many such unexpected, nuanced bits of acting. Shakespeare left “Merchant” full of unanswered questions, particularly about how the central couples feel about each other in the final scene of betrayal, forgiveness, and resolution. Under Darko Tresnjak’s direction, this cast has made strong, intelligent, quietly startling choices. The result highlights the sadness and compromises beneath the comic ending."
Chicago Stage Review - Not Recommended
"...Theatre for a New Audience’s production of The Merchant of Venice looks great and boasts the astonishing talent of Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham, but its surface rendering of the play offers little revelation. The sleek minimal techno-contemporary conceptualization creates a sharp opening visual but laptops, high-def flat-screens and smart-phones do not a re-envisioning make."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Shakespeare’s comedy about money, Judaism and iffy contract law is easily his most troubling play. It invites us to laugh at the misfortunes of a stereotypically wicked Jew, but, as critic Stephen Greenblatt has observed, the Bard seems to strive at the same time “to call the laughter into question, to make the amusement excruciatingly uncomfortable.” Shylock the usurer may be vindictive and villainous, but Shakespeare never lets us forget entirely that he’s also a human being who’s been wronged."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...This is a show that is deeply flawed, but with good ideas and some solid actors. If they rehashed it, if they whipped the ensemble into shape, lost the tiresome gimmicks, and decided what the hell they were doing with Bassanio, it could be a remarkably good piece. As it is, it is a fine yet ordinary production with some very good moments awash in a sea of mediocrity."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"...In the end of this long review, I can only state that Theatre for a New Audience’s “The Merchant of Venice” is a shaky and unclear, weird adaption of a classic piece. Honestly by the end of the first act you will be thinking to yourself, “what the hell just happened?” Dreading the forthcoming second act, hopefully you’ll at least make it to the incredible court room scene. The only reason this show managed to scrape by with a two star rating. Nowhere near worth the high ticket price."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Those who attend the works of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre are used to some modernization in their productions. The classics of William Shakespeare being brought up to the dress and style of today, despite the language being his. That is what makes CST so attractive to today’s audiences. I was not sure what I might see when it was announced that Broadway in Chicago, would have a Shakespearean “tragedy” on its schedule, but much to my surprise, the touring production of “The Merchant of Venice” now onstage at the Bank of America Theatre is brilliant! Not only is F.Murray Abraham outstanding in the role of Shylock, the Jew, the entire ensemble of players is up to the task set by director Tarko Tresnjak. This is part of a new program, “theatre for a new audience” and I believe that the presentation they offer, just might make audiences who are afraid of Shakespeare’s work be able to both enjoy the brilliance of his writing and appreciate the actors who make it understandable."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Putting Shakespeare’s plays in a contemporary setting often produces mixed results, and Darko Tresnjak’s corporate take on The Merchant of Venice finds both its strengths and weaknesses in its modern context. The national tour of the 2007 Off-Broadway production, Merchant of Venice stars Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham in the role of Shylock, a chilling portrayal of a man trampled by an oppressive society on a malicious quest for justice."