Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Jessica is the daughter of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, in William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (). In the play, she elopes with Lorenzo, a pennyless Christian, and a chest of her father's money, eventually ending up in Portia and Bassanio's household. In the play's dramatic structure, Jessica is a minor but pivotal role. Her actions motivate Shylock's vengeful insistence on his "pound of flesh" from Antonio; her relationships with Lorenzo and Shylock serves as a mirror and contrast to Portia's with Bassanio and with her father; her conversion to Christianity is the end of
Shakespeare Tavern of six years, The Atlanta Shakespeare Company produced "Romeo and Juliet", "Much Ado about Nothing", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Merchant of Venice", "Twelfth Night", "The Two Gentlemen of Verona", and "The Taming of the Shrew" in the back room at Manuel's, and at the nearby Excelsior Mill, attracting national attention with articles in "The Wall Street Journal", "The New York Times", and coverage by CBS and CNN. In 1990, The Atlanta Shakespeare Company opened the Shakespeare Tavern at 599 Peachtree Street. Since the Tavern opened, The Atlanta Shakespeare Company has produced over 73 plays, presenting 1,600 plus performances, including