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Shakespeare in Delaware Park opens its 36th season with Merchant of Venice, starting Thursday, June 16. Several familiar faces will be taking the stage when the curtain rises, including SDP founder Saul Elkin as Shylock and veteran Peter Palmisano as Antonio.
Palmisano first joined the cast of the Shakespeare Hill stage more than a decade ago when he was in Much Ado About Nothing. Now, after a few years’ hiatus, he’s back and playing the noble, good-natured Antonio.
Antonio is the best friend of another main character, Bassanio. When Bassanio needs some quick cash to court true love Portia, he turns to Antonio to help borrow the money from Shylock, Shakespeare’s infamous Jewish moneylender.
“Shakespeare’s characters are often very, very good or very, very bad,” says Palmisano. “Antonio is just a good guy, and he’s there to help out a friend. He agrees to the absurd ‘pound of flesh’ contract, certain nothing can go wrong. And even when it does go wrong, he’s still very gracious. He’s as noble as they come.”
While playing the bad guy might be more fun, he says that he’s happy to be on stage and ready to get the most out of his character and the performance. He’s avoided seeing other portrayals of the character, because creating from the words is one of the most enjoyable parts.
It’s all there, the character in their own words and the words of those around him. Part of the timelessness of Shakespeare is the ability to put almost any play in any setting, with the characters as lifelike as they were the first time they were performed.
It’s that timelessness that can be intimidating as well. Countless actors have stepped into the same character time and time again, but it’s that process of bringing a character to life that has kept generations of people coming back to the stage.
“These stories, these characters, they’re timeless,” Palmisano says. “At the time they were written, the main goal for so many was finding food to put on the table that night. All of a sudden, you could go and see these plays and begin learning about and understanding each other.”
A former high school English teacher at Lakeshore High School, he has seen that connection sparked by performances of Shakespeare countless times. For Palmisano, that is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching -- or performing.
Of the hundreds of students he would teach, if only a handful of them told him that they had learned to appreciate the work, it was worth it. And at the heart of it, that’s what Shakespeare in Delaware Park is all about.
“That’s what Saul [Elkin] has tried to do for so many years, is to make Shakespeare palatable and bring it to the masses,” he says. “And I feel like I’m the luckiest actor in town to be such a part of that.”
Six nights a week, that’s what it’s all about. Standing behind the stage, watching the sun set over Shakespeare Hill as the crowd fills in. Bringing their wine and cheese, bringing their children, bringing those who have never seen a Shakespeare play. And, at the end of the night, walking away with a new appreciation for one of literature’s great classics.
For more information, including how to become a member, visit shakespeareindelawarepark.org or call 856-4533.
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