*Disclaimer, I’m feeling sick today. My review will be short and sweet, and this is because I’m feeling badly, not because I don’t have a ton of wonderful things to say about the show.

Last night I went and saw The Merchant of Venice directed by Stuart Bousel from Custom Made Theatre Co.. I was really impressed. This was my first time seeing The Merchant of Venice (I haven’t read it either) and I was able to follow along with the story with ease. It’s a far cry from how lost I was when I saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream the Opera in Rome. It was also made current in a seemingly carefree way. I’ve seen other Shakespeare shows that tried to straddle the line of modern and classic and failed miserably (haven’t we all?) and so it was refreshing to see it done so well.

While I thought all of the actors did a great job, I was especially impressed with Megan Briggs who played Portia, and Molly Holcomb who played Nerissa. I thought they especially shined during the beautifully staged court room scene.

Good job Staurt, cast, and everyone over at Custom Made! I can’t wait to see what you put out next.

The show runs July 9 – Aug 5; Thurs-Sat 8pm; Sun 7pm and is at the Gough Street Playhouse. It comes highly recommended.