Slideshow: The Merchant of Venice

On Saturday evening the St. Genesius Players treated Thomas Aquinas College students, faculty, and families to a production of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

Named for the patron saint of actors, the St. Genesius Players is a student-run organization that puts on one play each spring. The directors of this year’s performance were seniors Maria Russell and Maria Pape, who held auditions early last semester. This past week student actors, actresses, costume and set designers, lights, sound, and stage crews descended upon St. Joseph Commons for a busy round of final rehearsals. The result was Saturday’s energetic performance, which often sent the packed audience into peals of laughter.

Sonja Misko, a freshman, headed up the cast with a lively and mischievous portrayal of the heroine, Portia. Sophomore John Turrentine played the part of Bassanio, her poor lover. Other dramatis personae included Portia’s maid, Nerissa (Margaret Gardner ’14); greedy Shylock (Joseph Rivera ’17); his beautiful daughter Jessica (Bernadette Buches ’17); her lover, Lorenzo (John Parker Wilmeth ’15); the kind-hearted Antonio (Erin Straub ’15); and Gratiano (Michael Pfeiffer ’17).

Miss Russell and Miss Pape ended the night by thanking the many students who helped to make the play a success. They also extended a thank you to the audience for coming to see the performance.