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Cast

Creative Team

Director's Notes

Why are we still do plays about the Holocaust?

In October 2021, I directed Shirley Lauro’s All Through the Night which was a play about women’s experiences in Nazi Germany. At that point in time, we were at the end of Donald Trump’s first presidency and just coming out of the social isolations brought on by Covid.  At the opening night, a local critic asked in his review, "why are we still doing Holocaust plays, shouldn’t we be beyond them at this point?"

I have college friend who is the business manager for a synagogue in New Jersey, and she is getting constant alerts from the FBI about potential violence against her congregation.  They have had to hire a security guard in order to ensure their members safety when they come to worship. In 2023, there were 8,873 incidents of anti-Sematic violence which is a 140% increase from 2022 which is the highest amount of crime against Jewish people since 1979.  The population of Jewish people make up about 2% of the US population but receive 60% of religious based hate crime. On 11/16/24, a group of Neo-Nazi’s paraded around in Columbus, OH waving flags covered in swastikas.  

When I was working towards my MFA at the Catholic University of America, my theater theory professor, Gary Williams, PhD, asked the class about staging Shakespeare’s more problematic plays like Taming of the Shrew, Measure for Measure, and The Merchant of Venice. I wondered about setting The Merchant of Venice in a concentration camp. Would that work and would it be appropriate?

I found out that the prisoners in the concentration camps actually put on plays both for each other and their captors. During the Third Reich, only German playwright’s work was performed except for two: George Bernard Shaw and William Shakespeare.  I read that Joseph Goebbels, the Reich’s Minister for Propaganda loved The Merchant of Venice and felt that utilized it to “enlighten German citizens about the nature and dangers of Jewry”.  In fact, between the years 1933 and 1939, more than 50 productions of The Merchant of Venice were staged in Germany.  

We started rehearsing for this performance of Shylock in October. We joked a lot and rehearsals were fun and light. After November 6^th, the cast, the production, and I felt a shift in the tone of work. With a return to Donald J. Trump as president, we felt a heaviness with what we were creating. Talks of mass deportation, creating camps for illegal immigrants, and remarks about never having elections again, made us worried about the state of our country and the future of us all. I hope you enjoy the show. I hope it enlightens you about the relationship between art and politics.

Lara Haberberger - Playwright and Director of SHYLOCK

Meet the Company

Monish Bhattacharyya

Prisoner #6202/Shylock

Monish is excited to return to the stage with the American Repertory Theater of Western New York, taking on the profound and challenging role of Shylock. Monish approaches this role with a deep understanding of and respect for, the responsibility it carries—especially in a production that speaks so powerfully to today’s social and cultural conversations. His previous acting credits with ART include The Kindness of Strangers, Speed of Dark, and Rust and Redemption. As a director, Monish has helmed ART’s productions of Paradigm Bomb and, most recently, Break Song. He is honored and humbled for the opportunity to explore this timeless and complex character and for the trust placed in him by the ART team. He extends heartfelt thanks to the creative team, his family, and the audience for embracing the transformative power of live theater.

Andrew Zucarrl

Prisoner A15111‬ ‭

This marks Andrew's fifth performance with American Repertory Theater of WNY. He was seen in ART/WNY's "The Birth of Santa", "Mercy Seat", "London Calling", and most recent, "The White Devil".

Kathleen Rooney

The Director

Making her A.R.T. debut, Kathleen most recently played Woman in THE INTERVIEW and Quinn in ONE BAR, Immigration Officer in OVERLAY, and Ms. Johnson in ELF SPACE with First Look Buffalo Theatre Company. With the Brazen-Faced Varlets she had the pleasure of playing four nasty Nazi Fraus in ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT and Donna/Shura in THE ANASTASIA TRIALS IN THE COURT OF WOMEN. Other roles include Lucy/Lucille in SCOTCH AND MADNESS at Alleyway Theatre; Mother in Post-Industrial Productions’ AFTER THE FALL; Helga ten Dorp in the Lancaster Opera House production of DEATHTRAP; Melissa in LOVE LETTERS and Edna in THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE with the Carriage House Players; at the New Phoenix Theatre, Eve in IN THE BEGINNING and Sarah in WAY BACK WHEN; and Madame Arcati in BLITHE SPIRIT at The Historic Palace Theatre.

John DellaContrada

German Soldier

John is honored to be making his debut at ART/WNY. Recent credits include Junie B. Jones (Herb/Grandpa Miller, U/S) at Theatre of Youth, Tea Party (Justin) with First Look Buffalo, The Cat in the Hat (The Cat) at Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, and ensemble roles in Bonnie and Clyde with Bellissima Productions. He’s been an assistant director at Irish Classical Theatre, Road Less Traveled Productions, and Bellissima Productions, and is co-writer and music director of A Crack in the Egg: A New Rock Musical, premiering at UB’s Katherine Cornell Theatre this February. Thank you to his family for their continued love and support.

Lara D. Haberberger

Director/Playwright

Lara D. Haberberger has her MFA in directing from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, her MBA and BA in theater from the University at Buffalo. While in DC, Lara worked as Assistant Director for THE MINEOLA TWINS at Woolly Mammoth Theater, THE DAZZLE at RepStage(winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Best Direction), and THE FAMILY REUNION at Washington Stage Guild, and also served as a Stage Management Intern for the PASSION part of the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center. Her production of LE BOUGEOUIS AVANT-GARDE won the Gilber V. Hartke Award for Best Production and Best Direction. Recent directing projects include: INTIMATE APPAREL for Buffalo State University and TEA PARTY for First Look Buffalo. She served as the Dramaturg for WITCH at Road Less Traveled. She is a co-founder and Executive Director of the Brazen-Faced Varlets. She is a two-time Artie Award nominated director (‘NIGHT MOTHER and COMEDY OF QUEERERS) and earned an Artie Nomination for Outstanding Ensemble for ROMANA AND JULIET. Lara will be directing for DECONSTRUCTION for First Look Buffalo in March 2025.

Matthew LaChiusa

Technical Director

Matthew returns for another season as American Repertory Theater of WNY’s technical director. Among the favorite sets he’s designed for ART/WNY include “Paradigm Bomb”, “Something Wicked”, and “London Calling”. Lighting design favorites include “Mercy Seat”, “Something Wicked”, “When Worlds Collide” and “Paradigm Bomb”. When not designing, Matthew is the Executive/Artistic Director for American Repertory Theater of WNY. Namaste.

Mariangela Mercurio

Stage Manager

Mariangela is excited to be back working with ART of WNY. . She is a Director, Stage Manager and Actor from Buffalo, NY. Favorite shows she has worked on: HMS Pinafore ( Opera-Lytes, Cousin Hebe), London Calling (ART of WNY, co-Director) and 42nd Street (Lockport Palace, Maggie).

Rebecca Mutchock

Costume Designer

Rebecca is excited to be back for a fourth season here at ART the costume designer. She studied acting and theatre locally at NCCC and Niagara University.

ART/WNY Thanks

2024-25 Board of Directors

Suzanne Hibbard (President); Matthew LaChiusa (Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer); Robert Insana; Monica Morrisey;  Mark Humphrey; Danette Pawlowski; Michael Breen

Board Advisors

Catherine Burkhart; Keith Wharton

If you would like to join the ART/WNY Board of Directors, please drop the company an email at artofwny@msn.com or call/text 716-697-0837 

The Board is currently looking for members with CPA skills, Business Management skills, Familiarity with Real Estate laws, or simply real "go-getters" in our community. 

Who is ART/WNY

Who is ART/WNY:

• A company that believes in the community in which it serves
• A company that supports local artists in their creative journeys 
• A company that provides a forum for those who are passionate about their crafts but cannot find opportunities to develop them 
• A company that keeps ticket prices affordable so that all may attend theater
• A company that provides a reasonable priced space for other arts organizations to produce their works for extended periods. 
• A company with a history of taking chances on material
• A company with a core belief that theater is a craft and not a popularity contest
• A company with limited budgets but will do everything in its power to put on engaging, provocative, powerful and insightful theater despite financial limitations

This is ART/WNY

Love the Art in You. 

What's Next For ART/WNY

Feb 6th - Feb 22nd