Rasaka Theater Company Presents

Rasaka Theate Company joins Vitalist Theatre of Chicago for a remount of Shishir Kurup’s South Asian Adaptation MERCHANT ON VENICE. On April 8 the Indo-American Heritage Museum offers a group admission and a post-performance discussion of this provocative drama. MERCHANT ON VENICE explores empathy and grace, as well as blame and internalized and externalized religious bigotry, while mixing with the clash/mash of culture of South Asian culture in LA. A tragi-comic, raucous, dark and irreverent work, Kurup’s play is set on Venice Boulevard in present day Culver City, California – the play explores how the preponderance of power in one sector of a community can marginalize a minority, and provoke reactionary and retributive responses.

Four principal actors from the 2007 world premiere production by Silk Road Rising. Anish Jethmalani will reprise his role of the Muslim money-lender Sharuk (Kurup’s surrogate for Shakespeare’s Shylock). Jethmalani is a founding member of Rasaka Theatre and associate artist at Timeline Theatre. Rasaka’s Producing Artistic Director Kamal Hans will play Jitendra, a Hindu actor who has fled Bollywood stardom to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood. Madrid St. Angelo will play Devender, Jitendra’s best friend. Rasaka Associate Artistic Director Alka Nayyar will play Kavita and serve as choreographer.

Joining the four veterans of the 2007 cast will be Suzan Faycurry as Pushpa, the object of Jitendra’s affection, Sunny Anam, Almanya Narula, Simran Bal, Anand Bhatt, Luisa Blanco, Dennis Garcia, Murtaza Kapasi, Siddhartha Rajan, Priyank Thakkar, and Ben Veatch. Liz Carlin Metz, Artistic Director Vitalist Theatre, will direct.

Opening March 22 performance times: Thursdays-Saturdays @ 7:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays @ 2:30pm $25 General Admission www.greenhousetheater.org.