Liev Schreiber—whose performance as Iago in the Public Theater's Othello led critics to hail him as one of America's leading classical actors—may return to the Bard during the 2002-03 season. Schreiber, speaking at the Drama League luncheon, told Playbill On-Line he was discussing the possibility of playing Shylock in a new production of The Merchant of Venice. The New York Theatre Workshop is the would-be venue.

If the Schreiber Shylock was to materialize, it would mark the young actor's fourth stab at Shakespeare in roughly as many years. In the summer of 1998, Andrei Serban directed him in an Obie-winning performance as Iachimo in Cybeline. The next year saw Serban and Schreiber reunite for Hamlet, and, while the production was reviled, the actor was again praised. Last fall saw Schreiber get his best reviews yet in Othello, under the direction of Douglas Hughes. All three mountings were produced by the Public Theater.