Academy Award Winner Al Pacino to Star in Shakespeare in the Park's Merchant of Venice

Academy Award and Tony-winning superstar Al Pacino will star as Shylock in 2010's Shakespeare in the Park presentation of The Merchant of Venice, the Public Theater has announced. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, the play will run in rotating repertory with The Winter's Tale, helmed by Michael Greif. Performances begin at the Delecorte Theater June 9, with the productions playing through August 1.

In addition to Pacino, the repertory company for the plays will feature Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Solanio/Young Shepherd), Jesse L. Martin (Gratiano/Polixenes), Al Pacino (Shylock), Lily Rabe (Portia/First Gentlewoman), Ruben Santiago-Hudson as (Prince of Morocco/Leontes) and Max Wright (Old Gobbo/Old Shepherd). Due to scheduling conflicts, Pacino will only appear in The Merchant of Venice. Complete casting for both shows will be announced at a later date.

Pacino played Shylock in a 2004 film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice. At the Public, he played Marcus Antonius in Julius Caesar (1988). On Broadway, he won Tony Awards for his performances in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and appeared in Camino Real, Richard III, American Buffalo, Chinese Coffee, Hughie (which he also directed) and two productions of Salome (1992 and 2003). Additional credits on his long film resume are Academy Award-nominated performances in The Godfather, Serpico, The Godfather: Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, …And Justice For All, Dick Tracy and Glengarry Glen Ross, as well as an Oscar-winning turn in Scent of a Woman.

Ferguson has appeared at the Delacorte in Sullivan’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and On the Town. He is currently a series regular on ABC’s Modern Family, and has also appeared on Do Not Disturb, The Class and Ugly Betty. His Broadway credits include On the Town and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Martin is best-known for playing Tom Collins in the original company of Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent. His other theater credits include The Arabian Nights, The Government Inspector and Timon of Athens. He played nine seasons on Law & Order, and currently appears as a series regular on NBC’s The Philanthropist.

Rabe has appeared on Broadway in The American Plan, Heartbreak House and Steel Magnolias. Off-Broadway credits include Crimes of the Heart and Colder Than Here. Her film credits include Mona Lisa Smile, No Reservations, What Just Happened, A Crime and The Toe Tactic.

Tony winner Santiago-Hudson played the title role in Henry VIII at Shakespeare in the Park. On Broadway, he received a Tony Award for his performance in Seven Guitars and appeared in Gem of the Ocean and the musical Jelly’s Last Jam. His numerous film credits include Coming to America, The Devil’s Advocate, Shaft, Domestic Disturbance, Mr. Brooks, American Gangster, The Invention of Lying and George C. Wolfe’s made-for-television adaptation of Lackawanna Blues.

Tony Award nominee Wright appeared opposite Pacino in Richard III on Broadway. Additional Rialto credits include The Great White Hope, Twelfth Night and Ivanov. Public Theater performances include Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV and The Cherry Orchard. He is best-known to television audiences for his starring roles on Alf and The Norm Show.

Shakespeare in the Park 2010 is not the Public Theater’s first foray into rotating repertory. Henry IV, Parts One and Two were performed in rep in the Newman Theater in 1991, and 20 years earlier, the Henry VI plays and Richard III were condensed into The War of the Roses which was presented in rep and then performed in one all-night marathon in Central Park.