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Caryn James (review date 8 October 2001)

SOURCE: James, Caryn. “Shylock and Portia Speak to All Eras.” New York Times 151, no. 51900 (8 October 2001): E8.

[In the following review, James praises Trevor Nunn's adaptation of The Merchant of Venice for PBS, including Henry Goodman's “mesmerizing” Shylock and Derbhle Crotty's “commanding” Portia.]

Revenge, justice, mercy. Words that seem socially and politically charged today were already resonating through The Merchant of Venice, a play so deeply rooted in an enduring question—how should justice, mercy and vengeance be balanced?—that it speaks to any number of historical crises, including our own. Trevor Nunn's inspired idea was to transplant the play to the 1930's, when World War II was looming and anti-Semitism was bluntly expressed.

Stylishly set in cafe society, this astute Merchant gets the new season of “Masterpiece Theater” off to a...

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1. Introduction
2. Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
   1. Walter Cohen (essay date winter 1982)
3. Criticism: Character Studies
   1. Richard Abrams (essay date 1996)
   2. Bruce Boehrer (essay date summer 1999)
   3. Gary Rosenshield (essay date 2002)
4. Criticism: Production Reviews
   1. Peter Marks (review date 13 January 1999)
   2. Hal Jensen (review date 2 July 1999)
   3. Matt Wolf (review date 2 August 1999)
   4. Robert Smallwood (review date 1999)
   5. John Simon (review date 14 February 2000)
   6. Alvin Klein (review date 5 November 2000)
   7. Robert Smallwood (review date 2000)
   8. Caryn James (review date 8 October 2001)
   9. Toby Young (review date 10 November 2001)
5. Criticism: Themes
   1. Thomas Luxon (essay date January 1999)
   2. Steve Patterson (essay date spring 1999)
   3. Martin Japtok and Winfried Schleiner (essay date 1999)
6. Further Reading
7. Copyright