South Dakota Shakespeare Festival (SDSF) is thrilled to bring big news for the 2024 season! To  begin, SDSF will perform The Merchant of Venice for their 2024 summer season. This powerful  story blends romance, comedy, and suspense with cultural conflicts that still live with us today.  The characters of Shylock and Portia are two of the strongest and most memorable in the canon.  

Dr. Ralph Cohen, co-founder of The American Shakespeare Center, referred to these two by  saying they are, “two brilliant but flawed poles of this face-off between the Old Testament (law)  and the New Testament (love).” In addition to offering such a powerful production, SDSF has  other surprises for South Dakota audiences. As always, the production and all SDSF events are  provided free of charge.