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Synopses of This Year's Productions
The following synopses take into account any casting choices which have been made for this year's productions.

The Merchant of Venice
Bassanio, a youth in Venice, wishes to marry the wealthy Portia, but lacks the money to do so.  He asks his friend Antonio, a merchant of Venice for assistance, and together they go to Shylock the Jew, a moneylender to borrow 3,000 ducats.  Shylock agrees to make the loan, but as he hates Antonio, he puts in certain provisions.  If Antonio defaults on his loan, his punishment will be to lose the pound of flesh closest to his heart, but as Antonio expects a large merchant fleet shortly, he accepts the terms.  He also helps Shylock’s daughter Jessica elope with her Christian lover Lorenzo, raiding her father’s coffers in the process, which does nothing to abate Shylock’s hatred for him.  Bassanio wins Portia and all seems well until tragic news arrives:  Antonio’s fleet is lost at sea and Shylock is joyously appealing to the Duke for Antonio’s arrest and his pound of flesh.  It is up to Portia’s quick wit and legal wrangling to save Antonio and bring all to a “happy” ending.

Much Ado (About Nothing)
Returning home from WWII, Prince Peter arrives at the English estate of Duke Leonard with his soldiers:  young Claudio, Benedick and his illegitimate brother Prince John.  They are welcomed by Leonard, his beautiful daughter Hero and her cousin Beatrice.  Having once been an item, Beatrice and Benedick now constantly harp on each other and are confirmed marriage-haters.  Claudio and Hero, on the other hand immediately fall in love and want to get married.  While awaiting the nuptials, Prince Peter decides that it would be fun to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with each other and he recruits Claudio, Leonard and Hero to assist with the plot.  Prince John, however, hating the others, decides to destroy Claudio and Hero’s wedding day by convincing Claudio and Prince Peter that Hero is untrue.  Taken in by Prince John’s deceit, Claudio shames Hero at the altar in front of the whole assembly and the poor bride dies of grief.  After the debacle, Beatrice and Benedick finally declare their love for each other, but Beatrice asks Benedick to prove his love by killing his comrade Claudio.  Benedick challenges Claudio, but before a duel can be fought, the local constable Dogberry and her civil defense crew stumble upon Prince John’s plot and Hero’s character is restored.  Overcome with remorse, Claudio agrees to marry another of Hero’s cousins, who strangely enough, looks exactly like Hero.  Needless to say, there are happy endings for all!