Playwright Sarah B. Mantell rights centuries of wrong done Shakespeare’s Jessica, Lorenzo, and Shylock in The Theatre @ Boston Court’s adventurous, challenging Everything That Never Happened. But be forewarned and forearmed. The more familiar you are with its Merchant Of Venice protagonists, the greater the rewards of Mantell’s World Premiere romcom will be.

 There’s Jewish moneylender Shylock (Leo Marks), who’s spent the past four-hundred years accused of being so despicable a money-lender, he’d demand another man’s flesh as punishment for an unpaid debt.

There’s also Jessica (Erika Soto), scorned since The Merchant Of Venice’s 1605 debut for disrespecting both her father and his religion, stealing her dead mother’s emerald ring, and turning her back on both daddy and their shared faith, first by converting to Christianity and then by marrying a gentile.

 Lastly there’s Lorenzo (Paul Culos), the Christian object of Jessica’s affection, who hasn’t fared much better as a man charged with having wed for wealth and not for love.

Those forearmed with the above facts will be better equipped to appreciate how adeptly playwright Mantell has filled in what’s been missing from one of the most problematic of Shakespeare’s problem plays, a task she has accomplished with humor and charm, unabashed romance, and not a single instance of archaic speech.

 In Mantell’s 21st-century take on The Bard, Jessica and Lorenzo’s whirlwind romance (“Oh my God, did you just fall in love with me!”) does meet a bit of a snag when he realizes just who her father is, but once it has become clear the kind of life she and Shylock have been forced to live (not only does the law dictate returning to the locked Jewish ghetto by sunset, it limits Shylock to only the lowest of professions), Lorenzo is more than willing to offer Jessica the freedom to visit not only Venice by night but the entire world beyond if only she says “I do.”

But in order to pack her bags and make her escape, Shylock’s daughter must first get Daddy out of the house by persuading him to visit prospective client Antonio, no easy task given the latter’s propensity for calling Shylock the vilest of names, spitting on him in the street, and otherwise making himself the last person in the world a Jew would lend money to.

 Enter Shylock’s Christian servant Gobbo (Dylan Saunders), assigned the task of ascertaining whether Antonio is kinder to others than he is with Shylock. Oh, and while he’s at it, how about pretending to be Jessica and sniffing out whether it’s she or her money that sets his heart aflutter?

Not only does Everything That Never Happened prove both a romantic charmer and a touching tale of a loving but strained father-daughter relationship, it gives Shylock, Jessica, and Lorenzo depth and motivation lacking in the Shakespeare original along with a respect for Judaism, an understanding of the consequences of making even a single wave (can you say pogrom?), and a decidedly feminist point of view. (As a woman, Jessica is prohibited from saying the Jewish prayer for the dead, just one reason Mantell’s play’s ends with such emotional punch.)

 Though those unfamiliar with The Merchant Of Venice may occasionally find Everything That Never Happened difficult to follow, it’s through no fault of master director Jessica Kubzansky and her stellar cast, led by a radiant Soto in the A Noise Within resident artist’s richest and most powerful performance to date.

 The always compelling Marks adds the complex, deeply misunderstood Shylock to his long list of lead and featured turns, Culos is everything you’d want a Prince Charming to be, and Saunders delights throughout as a minor Shakespeare clown given major-player status here. (Culos and Saunders’ boat scene is a particular gem.)

 Everything That Never Happened looks stunning on François-Pierre Couture’s versatile abstract set, lit with ever-changing beauty by Jaymi Lee Smith. Denitsa Bliznakova’s period costumes are terrific too as are Courtney Lynn Cudsenberry’s properties, and sound designer John Nobori underscores the action with a sweepingly cinematic score.

Amber Goebel is production stage manager and Trixie Hong is assistant stage manager. Ariella Wolfe is assistant director. Emilie Beck is dramaturg and Murielle Zucker is research dramaturg.

Even those who haven’t done their Merchant Of Venice homework will find much to savor in Everything That Never Happened. Brush up on your Shakespeare and you’ll appreciate it even more.

The Theatre @ Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena.
www.bostoncourt.org

–Steven Stanley
October 6, 2018
Photos: Jenny Graham

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Sarah B. Mantell, The Theatre @ Boston Court, William Shakespeare