Nights with Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice

“In sooth I know not why I am so sad. It wearies me, you say it wearies you. But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What stuff ’tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn. And such a want-wit sadness makes of me that I have much ado to know myself.”–Antonio

Bob Scinto is proud announce the next Nights with Shakespeare class will feature The Merchant of Venice, led by scholar/musician/actor Leo Schaff.

Classes begin on Tuesday, October 17, 2026 at 6:30 pm for a 10 week exploration of Shakespeare's play.

Oct 13
Oct 20
Oct 27
Nov 3
Nov 10
Nov 17
Nov 24
Dec 1
Dec 8
Dec 10

About Nights with Shakespeare

Leo Schaff

Leo Schaff is an actor, singer, songwriter, and poet, with a great passion for Shakespeare. Named “New Yorker of the Week” by Time-Warner Cable TV’s NY1 for his extraordinary contribution to the community through his Shakespeare classes, Leo is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and is a member of The Shakespeare Society of New York. Studied with Stella Adler, classically trained at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, performed at The Actors Studio and The Public Theater, toured the country in the plays of Shakespeare, and has appeared in film and TV (Law & Order).

As a songwriter, his work has been heard from Carnegie Hall to C.B.G.B.’s to the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where his co-written composition “Give Us Hope” – a children’s choir classic – was performed at President Obama’s First Inauguration. Guitar in hand, his one-man song/spoken-word creations, Found, and Won, played to sold-out audiences at New York’s Emerging Artists Theater Festival. He currently teaches Shakespeare at the 92d St. Y, and looks forward to sharing his sense of Shakespearean wonder and bottomless study with one and all.

Nights with Shakespeare