Theater

“The Merchant of Venice”: Director-actress Lisa Wolpe of

the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company and her all-female crew give the Bard’s dark comic study of anti-Semitism and ambivalent romantic intrigue an invigorating boost. Wolpe aptly sets the action in 1942, with clashes unfolding amid the brick-and-marble levels and Christian icons of Katrina Coulorides’ smart Ivy Substation set. The concept finds current pertinence within period values, shrewdly maintained by sound designer Sue Brandt, costumer Alison Leach and lighting designer Maura McGuinness.

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Ends Sunday at Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. $15-$20. (310) 205-4144.