King Lear

King Lear is playing at the Cort Theatre located at 138 West 48th Street. It runs three hours thirty minutes with one intermission. The play closes on July 7, 2019.

William Shakespeare wrote this play around 1605.

Sam Gold is the director. He won a Tony Award for Fun Home (2015).

Ann Roth is the costume designer. She won a Tony Award for The Nance (2013) and was nominated for five Tony Awards for Shuffle Along, or, the musical of the sensation of 1921 and all that followed (2016), The Book of Mormon (2011), The House Blue Leaves (1986), The Crucifer of Blood (1979) and The Royal Family (1976).

Glenda Jackson won a Tony Award for Three Tall Women (2018) and was nominated for four Tony Awards for Macbeth (1988), Strange Interlude (1985), Rose (1981) and Marat/Sade (1965).

Ruth Wilson was nominated for a Tony Award for Constellations (2015).

There are fifteen characters in King Lear.

King Lear (Glenda Jackson) is having a get together with his family. He asks his three daughters what their feelings are for him. The oldest Regan (Aisling O’Sullivan) who is married to Duke of Cornwell (Russell Havard) and his second daughter Goneril (Therese Babato) who is married to the Duke of Albany (Dion Johnson) gush all over him, they bow to him.

Cordelia (Ruth Wilson) tells him she loves him the way a daughter should. She doesn’t want to be a hypocrite. That’s not what he wants and disowns her. He tries to marry her to the King of France (Ian Lassiter). But he refuses because she has no money or title.

Earl of Kent (John Douglas Thomas) is forever loyal to King Lear.

In the meantime the Earl of Gloucester (Jayne Houdyshell) bastard son Edmund (Pedro Pascal) is trying to get his brother Edgar (Sean Carvajal) disinherited. He tells his father Edgar is plotting against him. Edger flees and disguises himself as a beggar.

King Lear is followed by the Fool (Ruth Wilson)

The story revolves around these characters, each stabbing the other in the back. When there is no one left more or less.

Earl of Gloucester won’t tell where King Lear is. Edmund tells the Duke of Cornwell he knows where he is. When he won’t tell, the Duke pokes out both of his eyes.

King Lear goes mad.

There are good things and bad about the show. It would make it more enjoyable if you know a little about the play. There are so many characters its mind boggling to remember all of them.

The clothes are modern. There is a string quartet playing music. The Duke of Cornwall played by Russell Harvard is deaf and there is someone doing sign language for him

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Glenda Jackson, Ruth Wilson, Jayne Houdyshell, John Douglas Thompson and Sean Carvajal just blew me away they were so good. The rest of the cast shinned.

It’s long, act one was two hours with a twenty minute intermission. Act 2 was an hour and ten minutes. There were scene’s that were great and others well you do have to be a Shakespeare fan. If you like the Shakespeare you will like this play, it’s up to you.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for photos. Click on photos for this and other shows.