_

Plummer, and he was in the world premiere of the
musical Ragtime.
Soles also has portrayed many Jewish characters —
the lead role of Nat in IM Not Rappaport, Mr. Dussel
in The Diary of Anne Frank, Matt in Tally's Folly and
Eli/Jacob in Zadie's Shoes.
For 16 years, Michigan audiences saw Soles as host
of the public affairs TV program Take Thirty, which
was broadcast daily on CKLW.
"Robert Schneider, who wrote a book called The
Roman Shylock, presents a whole new paradigm on
the play," Soles says. "He suggests that Shakespeare,
whose early education and culture would have been
much affected by what he learned at school in Latin
and of the Roman Empire, informed a great number
of his plots.
"According to Roman law, the taking of flesh in
forfeit for a debt, [as is explored in the play], was
commonplace, and taking a little bit more or a little
bit less didn't matter."
Just before being offered his Stratford role, Soles
was in negotiation to appear in a one-man produc-
tion, Shylock, a companion piece for Merchant
exploring why the play must be seen and studied and
why judgments about it must be made by audiences,
not just critics.
Posner, whose father is now proud to have him
appearing in a Shakespeare play, finds it fascinating
to experience Merchant from the inside.
"The most interesting thing for me will be to see
the reaction of the people who come to see it," says
Posner, who attended a private Jewish day school. "I
am especially interested in the reactions of the
younger generation. Hopefully, they'll feel uncom-
fortable about the issues being explored, and it will
make them ask questions about anti-Semitism or
anti-whatever. They can fill in the blank."
Posner, in his second season with Stratford, also
appears as Scroop/Bates in Henry Vand as part of
the ensemble in Twelfth Night. Last year, he was in
Titus Andronicus, Hamlet and As You Like It.
A recent graduate of the acting program at the
University of Alberta, he has been cast by other the-
aters to portray the rabbi in Village of Idiots, Oliver
in As You Like It and Chisum in The Collected Works
of Billy the Kid. There are film and television credits,
including The Hooplife, Scalpers and The Exiles.
"Doing Shakespeare is a great way for a young
actor to learn," Posner says. "I believe if you can do
Shakespeare, you can take what you've learned and
apply it to anything It doesn't get much better than
doing Shakespeare.' ❑

The Merchant of Venice will be performed May
8-Nov. 3 at the Stratford Festival of Ontario
Festival Theatre. $22.60-$70.65 (Canadian).
Call (800) 567-1600.
Shakespeare scholar Janelle Jenstad gives an
informal lecture on The Merchant of Venice 5:30
p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, in the Festival Theatre's Paul
D. Fleck Marquee. General admission tickets of
$29.50 (Canadian)/$20 (Canadian) for children
18 and younger, includes a buffet dinner and the
lecture. Reserve at least 24 hours in advance at
(800) 567-1600.

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SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

NI he Merchant of Venice, the Shakespeare play that has
sparked controversy over whether its Jewish character,
Shylock, is an anti-Semitic caricature, is one of 14 productions
being staged in this year's Stratford Festival of Canada.
"Merchant, oddly enough, has been said by some to be the
most popular Shakespearean play in Israel," says Paul Soles,
who plays the part of Shylock. "In Yiddish theater, Merchant
and King Lear were performed frequently "
Running May 8-Nov. 3, Merchant will be joined by four other
Shakespeare plays: Twelfth Night, a comedy of love and confused
identities performed through Nov. 2; Henry V, a drama about
the battles of a new king staged May 11-Nov. 4; Henry IV Part
I, a work revealing a rebellious prince offered May 19-Sept, 29;
and Falstaff (Henry Part II), a not-so-royal character study
presented June 7-Sept. 29.
"The intent of the festival every year
C. David Johnson as
is to present a breadth of drama, and
Captain von Trapp and
so there are more contemporary
Cynthia Dale as Maria
pieces," Soles explains. "The ripples
Ranier in Rodgers and
go out beyond Shakespeare."
Hammerstein's "The
Among the classics is Anton
Sound of Music."
Chekhov's The Seagull (July 31-Nov.
3), which presents a ridiculed playwright and rejected lover, all
in one person.
Inherit the Wind (July 28-Nov. 3), by Jerome Lawrence and
Robert E. Lee, puts a teacher on trial for introducing the theo-
ry of evolution. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf(May 2-Nov, 3),
by Edward Albee, looks inside a troubled marriage. Good
Mother (Aug. 16-Sept. 27), by Damien Atkins, shows a family
struggling with the care of an injured family member.
The funnier side of the stage comes with Privase Lives (May
12-Nov. 2), by Noel Coward, which places a divorced couple,
both with their second spouses, at the same resort. Wingfield
on Ice (Aug. 14-Oct. 12), by Dan Needles, shows the compli-
cations experienced by a stockbroker-turned-farmer.
Two stage debuts are Temptest-Tost (June 10 to Sept. 30), Richard
Roses foray into the backstage woes of a community theater troupe,
and The Trials of Ezra Pound (July 8-Aug. 17), Timothy Findley's
exploration of the poet known for his anti - Semitism.
The Sound of usic (through Nov. 4), the Rodgers and
Hammerstein musical, adds another dimension to addressing
anti-Semitism,

For information about the Stratford season, call (800) 567-
1600 or go to vvww.stratfordfestival.ca .

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