The funny thing is that Harold Bloom believes that Marlowe's Jew should be Shylock. I think that would be interesting -- have the stereotype of the comic villain played to the hilt with all the added anti-semitic accoutrements, and then, with the handful of speeches of Shylock's that work against the stereotype, you could truly make a contemporary audience uncomfortable. wanderingaengus saw the Chicago Shakes production with me, and said the closest contemporary thing to "Merchant" he can think of is Spike Lee's film about a contemporary televised minstrel show, "Bamboozled," which I haven't seen.

I also haven't seen Pacino's film version of "Merchant," which a reader arguing against my recent review of the Chicago Shakes production said I should, because Pacino made Shylock "deeply wounded and deeply angry." Frankly, I think those qualities are part of the operational definition of a comic villain.

And yes, Greenblatt is right about the marriages in "Merchant." Not even the unions in "Measure for Measure" creep me out as much.