SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 22, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — William Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice” may have been written in 1596, but many of the themes are searingly relevant 428 years later in 2024.
Love, justice and money and how they affect characters are themes that pop up a great deal in the Bard’s plays, and prejudice and intolerance are also major tropes, as well as explorations of the relationship between law, mercy, and revenge. And of course, gender fluidity and identity, and disguise also crop up in many of his plays.
Plan-B Theatre Company is currently presenting “Balthazar,” a one-act riff on Shakespeare’s classic play that manages to pack in many of these topics. The world premiere by Debora Threedy is directed by Cheryl Ann Cluff and features Lily Hye Soo Dixon and Jason Bowcutt. The show opened Feb. 15 and plays until March 3 in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center’s Studio Theatre at 138 W. Broadway in Salt Lake City. Portia is a noblewoman in 16th century Venice; she wants to be a lawyer, but that profession is reserved for men. Her lawyer cousin Bellario won’t teach her. Her husband Bassanio is in serious legal trouble… and he’s in love with his best friend Antonio. Things are not going well. What’s a girl to do? The play takes on this premise: “What if Portia’s appearance as a male lawyer in court wasn’t the first — or last — time she dressed in drag?”
The play depicts a series of encounters between Portia, who also disguises herself as Balthazar to pursue her first case as a lawyer, and Bellario, a character who is referred to but never actually appears in “The Merchant of Venice.” Portia chafes against the restrictions imposed by society and her family, and turns to Bellario to help her forge her own path — a path that leads her to become a lawyer, to defend the life of her husband’s best friend, and to challenge nonbinary conceptions of gender.
The piece, which is still set in late Renaissance Italy, was previously workshopped at Plan-B as part of its Playwrights’ Lab and Script-in-Hand series, as well as being included Words Cubed, a week-long, intense development process at Utah Shakespeare Festival. Threedy is one of Utah’s most talented playwrights and her work has been consistently produced by local companies recently. This is no surprise; at a neat 70 minutes, “Balthazar” is taut as a tightrope and packed with probing questions, but it’s also incredibly engaging and accessible. The characters of Portia and Bellario have outer shells that they present to the world, but both also possess passionate, secret, hidden environments they are trying to explore. Threedy says in a blog for Plan-B about the show: “Portia sends to him [Bellario] to help her prepare for court and to borrow his robes. Why would he, a respected lawyer, be willing to help Portia deceive the court by breaking gender norms and the law itself: a woman dressing as a man was considered witchcraft and punishable by death. So I began to wonder: what if Bellario was also an outsider in terms of gender norms? What if he was gay?”
For an actor, it’s always more interesting to play a character that has a secret; famously, Jack Nicholson always gave his characters one. And both actors in “Balthazar” present lovely, multi-layered performances that allude to both their public and private worlds. Bowcutt is one of my favorite local actors; his energy on stage is always warm and graceful, while Dixon, in the shows I’ve seen her in, creates characters that are a delightful mixture of humanity and boldness, in this case presenting Portia, who to many audience members will be a role model because she is not afraid to speak up and step into what makes her unique instead of shying away of it. And she also embraces that her cousin is “different.” “That’s not the same as unnatural,” she says in scene three: “Pearls are different than most stones, but that makes them rare and wondrous, not unnatural.” With at least three tweens in the audience opening night, a line like this conveys a crucial message to always live authentically.
It’s also an excellent choice to cast Bowcutt and Dixon together; they are both actors that have an easy confidence to them and to see them on stage as a duo is electrifying. Both are ebullient, totally present, and every note is full and prepared. Their rhythm together is lovely and no part of the show feels rushed or glossed over. And it’s not an easy script; Threedy was a University of Utah law professor for 30 years and there’s a good amount of legalese that the actors successfully master. I always enjoy Cluff’s direction also; she has a light touch with her actors where one can tell they have been given space to really flesh out their roles and live inside their characters, but she also provides guidance through the denser parts of the piece in order to present a coherent whole. Her blocking, also, is simple but always interesting and imaginative. Cluff also designed the music, which is traditional to the period and plays between each scene, nicely setting the mood.
The production values too are exciting and innovative. The scenic design by Janice Chan, with props design by Arika Shockmel, depicts Bellario’s opulent study, which is filled with books and curiosities and dominated by a large, ornate wooden desk and bench, as well as a black-and-white checkered rug, and a globe in the corner which suggests the larger world beyond. Behind the desk is a collection of framed art, hung salon style so one may not notice that there is not actually a wall there; the art is hung on wires, a touch I rather loved. The set suggests the gravitas of Bellario’s career and status; there are also red velvet curtains on either side of the playing space; perhaps a nod to the sometimes theatrical nature of the characters’ shenanigans, which see Portia at times take on the identity of Balthazar.
The lighting by Marley Keith is unfussy and perfectly sets the mood; as well as a natural hue to illuminate the proceedings, there are also three elaborate sconces with candles among the art at the back that stay lit during the scene transitions, a nice touch. The costumes by Aaron Asano Swenson are absolutely beautiful and flattering as they always are when he designs. Literally every show I attend that he’s costumed, to I end up wanting to dress in a style similar to the characters; and in this case, I left the theater wondering whether I could get away with sporting a doublet like the one Portia wears, which is an opulent black and gold (no, I did not search Etsy for doublets… yet). Swenson’s work with Portia’s disguises are also credible; and thank God, he makes it plausible that she might not be recognized with hats and masks that cover almost her whole face. It’s a pet peeve of mine in plays when characters are “disguised” but it’s blatantly obvious it’s them.
I always love a night in the theater where you feel so immersed in the world presented that it’s a jolt when the actors’ take their bows. And this was certainly the case with “Balthazar.” One also feels a great deal of empathy for the characters; as I left the space, I found myself hoping that they eventually got to live in a world that was understanding towards them; a hope that of course, would be just as apposite if the play was set in 2024.
“Balthazar” plays on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through March 3. For tickets and more information, click here.
