A popular Manhattan middle school nixed a production of Shakespeare’s “A Merchant of Venice” last month after some parents expressed concern about anti-Semitic themes.
In collaboration with a theater group, the vaunted 75 Morton school in Greenwich Village had planned a unit on the play for seventh-grade drama students.
But that plan was met with unease from some Jewish parents who asked administrators — including first-year principal Valerie Leak — if the material was appropriate for middle schoolers.
The 16th-century play features a Jewish moneylender named Shylock — a term that has come to be considered an anti-Semitic slur.
Parents told The Post that they’re not flatly opposed to the production, which remains a theater company staple but were concerned that it wasn’t appropriate for young students.
“The way that anti-Semitism is shown in this play if you don’t have a minimum of knowledge and context you can’t understand how bad and dangerous it is you,” a member of the school community.
The Manhattan-based group is acclaimed for its productions of Shakespeare’s works and counts actors John Turturro and F. Murray Abraham as formal associates.
Parents said that the promised engagement never took place and that the production was abruptly canceled late last month.
“Members of our community have expressed their objection to this play due to concerns about racist and anti-Semitic language,” school officials wrote to parents of drama students in an email.
The school noted that the TFNA recognized the polarizing elements of the play in developing their approach.
“And while the company designed the curriculum with input from the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) to ensure that the challenging themes of the piece would be treated with the proper critical analysis, sensitivity, and thoughtfulness, we have decided to move forward with a different unit with the Theater,” the school said.
Parent Joe Sherinsky said that he had reservations about the project but would have preferred a more meaningful exchange on the issue.
“I think it needs to be properly contextualized,” he said. “There are great lessons in the Merchant of Venice. You can take names like Shylock and apply them broadly into lessons about racism. But in order to teach that properly, you need to have enough context as parents to say that this is something good for the school to do.”
School sources said parental opinion was divided, with some calling for a cancellation, others calling for a dialogue on the issue, and others who opposed scrapping the play.
Sherinsky, who praised Leak’s overall performance, said he lamented missing a “teachable moment.”
The school opted not to switch to a new production and will instead focus on a playwriting curriculum instead.
“This decision did not come lightly, as we worked diligently with TFNA and listened to the members of our community to resolve concerns,” the school said. “However, we believe this is the right decision to make at this time.”
