TIMELINE-1743-An Authentic Jew

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1743-An Authentic Jew

May Day Fair, Benedict Town

STORY-1743-An Authentic Jew

Andreas Liebe was a Jewish tobacco trader from New York (formerly New Amsterdam) who traveled to Benedict Town for a longtime supplier’s wedding. There, he came upon a traveling theater group rehearsing The Merchant of Venice. He interrupted to demonstrate how to portray Shakespeare’s Jew authentically.

Andreas Liebe’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s Shylock for the actors was a melding of the happy, adventurous, young man he saw in his mirror, a complex, tragic figure pushed to vengeful extremes by relentless anti-Semitism, societal persecution, and personal humiliation, and the bard’s one-dimensional, greedy villain driven by pure malice.

The performance was an eye-opener for the onlookers, most of whom had never met a Jewish person.

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REFERENCE – TIMELINE – BEGIN ANEW

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