The Merchant (play) would make a big profit, but this did not happen. He wrote a book about the play in 1999, "The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel". In this play, Shylock is a good man and Antonio's, the title character in Shakespeare's play, good friend. They bond in their love of knowledge and mutual dislike of the antisemitism in their community. Shylock's demand for a pound of flesh is meant as a jest, but he can not retract it. Both Shylock and Antonio are relieved when the demand is denied in court. Reviewing "The Merchant", critic Michael Billington
On the Razzle (play) On the Razzle (play) On the Razzle is a play by Tom Stoppard. It is an adaptation of the Viennese play "Einen Jux will er sich machen" by Johann Nestroy, which had been adapted twice by Thornton Wilder. The first 1938 version, entitled "The Merchant of Yonkers", was faithful to the original material, but the second 1955 version, renamed "The Matchmaker", expanded the previously secondary role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, who later became the heroine of the Jerry Herman musical hit, "Hello, Dolly!". Stoppard's adaptation eliminates the Dolly character. The play's title is a euphemism often used by the British