In this “as told by” description of what has happened on and behind the scenes of Merchant of Venice, Gratiano is in a valuable observation post. And playwright/performer, Ross Ericson, gives us the lesser character, Gratiano, with a wealth of common sense.
Gratiano has been arrested for murder the previous night but he was too much in his cups to remember. This forces him into his second-hand impression of what has happened during the financial, legal and romantic relationships; Gratiano gives us a hindsight, pragmatic view.
We know that Shylock wants his pound of flesh; after all, that was what was agreed to in the contract. But here, the earthy Gratiano muses over Portia, who donned men’s clothes, having never taken a law course, demanding after a trial full of questionable logic, “what mercy did she show Shylock?” when he is forced to give up his religion.
Mr Ericson views Grationo as a Roman citizen during and just after WW II, which is a unique place for Mr Ericson to review the lives of Antonio, Bassanio, Portia, Jessica and Shylock.
Playwright/performer Ross Ericson gives us so much more. In a surprising and startlingly intelligent script, handily performed, Mr Ericson admits in epilogue that Gratiano is still in development. This has all the potential of being a smart vehicle for Mr Ericson.