The Merchant of Venice Delays Broadway Press Opening Night

The upcoming Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice, a transfer from the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park starring Al Pacino as Shylock, has postponed its official press opening night.

Lily Rabe, who stars as Portia, “will be out of the show for the next several performances for personal family reasons,” according to a Public Theater press representative. The shows will go on with Rabe's understudy Kim Martin-Cotten in the role, but the November 7 performance at the Broadhurst Theatre will no longer be the press opening night.

In addition to Pacino and Rabe, the Broadway cast includes Jesse L. Martin, David Harbour, Christopher Fitzgerald, Byron Jennings, Gerry Bamman, Heather Lind, Matthew Rauch, Charles Kimbrough, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Richard Topol and Seth Numrich.

A new opening date has not been announced.