Al Pacino-Led The Merchant of Venice Re-Opens on Broadway with New Cast Members

Daniel Sullivan’s production of The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Lily Rabe as Portia, will re-open February 1 at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre after a three-week break. The show, which went on hiatus beginning January 9 to allow Pacino to honor pre-existing obligations, returns with new actors in the roles of Gratiano and Lorenzo. David Aaron Baker will take on the role of Gratiano, previously played by Jesse L. Martin, and Thomas Michael Hammond will take over the part of young lover Lorenzo from Seth Numrich.

Numrich is leaving Merchant to star in the upcoming Lincoln Center Theatre production of War Horse, while the Public Theater cited upcoming production commitments as preventing Martin from continuing with the show.

In addition to Baker and Hammond, the Broadway cast of Merchant features David Harbour, Byron Jennings, Gerry Bamman, Heather Lind, Matthew Rauch, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Christopher Fitzgerald, Peter Francis James, Isaiah Johnson and Richard Topol.

The Merchant of Venice began life in June 2010 at Central Park's Delacorte Theatre as part of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park series before transferring to Broadway’s Broadhurst Theater, where it opened on November 7. The show will play its final performance on February 20.