From Shakespeare to JUNK: A History of Drama and Finance

Ayad Akhtar's new play, Junk, explodes onto Broadway this season, bringing with it an important conversation about the history of our current corporate economic dilemma and how we got here.

It's 1985. Robert Merkin, the resident genius of the upstart investment firm Sacker Lowell has just landed on the cover of Time Magazine. Hailed as "America's Alchemist," his proclamation that "debt is an asset" has propelled him to dizzying heights. Zealously promoting his belief in the near-sacred infallibility of markets, he is trying to re-shape the world.

JUNK is the story of Merkin's assault on American capitalism's holy of holies, the "deal of the decade," his attempt to takeover an iconic American manufacturing company and, in the process, to change all the rules. What Merkin sets in motion is nothing less than a financial civil war, pitting magnates against workers, lawyers against journalists, and ultimately, pitting every one against themselves.

Set more than 30 years ago, this is a play about how, while most of us weren't watching, money became the only thing of real value.

Since the dawn of the theatre, many playwrights and composers have explored the world of finance. Whether corporate or personal, money matters have seeped their way into even the unlikeliest of works. As one of the prime motivators for most humans. matters of finance have served as the central driving force for some of the stage's most memorable characters.

Whether they are swimming in cash, scrounging for change in the laundry cup, or even committing murder for it, money has been the prime motivator for some of the stage's most famous tales.

Let's take a look back at some of the theatre's most popular visits to the world of cash and commerce:

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare's most thrilling and controversial plays, rich with love and betrayal, forgiveness and revenge. The Jewish moneylender Shylock makes a loan to Antonio, a Christian merchant. Their loan contract, steeped in prejudice and centered on the play's infamous "pound of flesh," sweeps the two men and everyone in their worlds into chaos.

Enron

Based on real-life events, Lucy Prebble's Enron explores one of the most infamous scandals in financial history, reviewing the tumultuous 1990s and casting a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world currently finds itself.

Glengarry Glen Ross

Set in an office of cut-throat Chicago salesmen pitched in a high-stakes competition against each other, four increasingly desperate employees will do anything, legal or otherwise, to sell the most real estate. As time and luck start to run out, the mantra is simple: close the deal and you've won a Cadillac; blow the lead and you're f****d. At a time of fierce debate about the American Dream and what it represents, Glengarry Glen Ross is a lacerating satire for modern society, highlighting how economic austerity can affect the morality and greed of individuals under financial pressure.

American Psycho

Based on the best-selling novel by Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho is set in the epicenter of excess: 1980s Manhattan. The musical tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a young and handsome Wall Street banker with impeccable taste and unquenchable desires. Patrick and his elite group of friends spend their days in chic restaurants, exclusive clubs and designer labels. But at night, Patrick takes part in a darker indulgence, and his mask of sanity is starting to slip.

The Price

When the Great Depression cost his family their fortune, Victor Franz gave up his dream of an education to support his father. Three decades later, Victor has returned to his childhood home to sell the remainder of his parents' estate. His wife, his estranged brother, and the wily furniture dealer hired to appraise their possessions all arrive with their own agendas, forcing Victor to confront a question, long-stifled, about the value of his sacrifice. One of the most personal plays by the consummate voice of the American everyman, Arthur Miller's The Price is a riveting story about the struggle to make peace with the past and create hope for the future.

Newsies

Don't let all those handsome dancing boys distract you from the true heart of this musical history lesson: Greed. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged 'newsies,' who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what's right.

Dead Accounts

In Dead Accounts, Jack's unexpected return throws his family into a frenzy, and his sister Lorna needs answers. Is he coming home or running away? Where is his wife everyone hates? And how did he get all that money? Theresa Rebeck's comedy tackles the timely issues of corporate greed, small town values, and whether or not your family will always welcome you back...with no questions asked.

Caroline, or Change

It's 1963 in Louisiana, and for Caroline Thibodeaux the world is changing too fast. The president has just been shot and a fight for racial justice is sweeping the nation. Caroline, a black maid serving a Jewish household, desires only a good night's rest and a decent life for her children. A melodious moon provides the commentary as her relationship with young Noah, the precocious son of her employers, becomes complicated by pocket change.