Not everyone is gonna be happy all the time. That is just life. Knowing this is the best way to look at things so far. I mean in ACT 1 for example, Portia is not happy at all with the choices laid out in front of her for the most part as far as suitors go. Antonio and Bassanio are seemingly rather irratated with Shylock because of his high moral plus intrest. The way we were depicting MOV in class the other day with modernizing it certainly suits because I mean so far its exactly like high school. You can't change the "class" gap.They didn't in shakespeares day and they dont in high school.There was "class" distinction and you didn't cross those lines. The Jew-Christian relationship was a big thing then too.It again shows the same type of "class" distinction along with a underlaying raceism. I think reworking them would detract from the way they were written. I mean the only way your gonna understand certain things is to show them for what they really are. Like in that movie "American History X" while massively offensive to many many people the only way to know how to fix that racist behavior was to see it for what it really was. the same goes with a play. modernizing it or even re producing it you don't hide the way it was written because it was written the way it was for a purpose and a reason.
Katie