The Merchant of Venice mercy". Critic Harold Bloom listed it among Shakespeare's great comedies. Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 ducats to subsidise his expenditures as a suitor. Bassanio approaches his friend Antonio, a wealthy merchant of Venice who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out. Antonio agrees, but since he is cash-poor – his ships and merchandise are busy at sea to Tripolis, the Indies, Mexico and England – he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns
The Hobart Shakespeareans Hobart Shakespeareans "one of the great Shakespeare troupes" in Los Angeles. Rafe and the Hobart Shakespeareans work every year to perform a Shakespeare play. The recent plays they have performed were "As You Like It" and "The Merchant of Venice". "The Hobart Shakespeareans" aired on PBS' "P.O.V." series in 2005. It was produced and directed by Mel Stuart. The Hobart Shakespeareans The Hobart Shakespeareans of Hobart Boulevard Elementary School is a 2005 documentary film that tells the story of the inspirational inner-city Los Angeles school teacher Rafe Esquith whose rigorous fifth-grade curriculum includes English, mathematics, geography, and literature. The pinnacle