Frank Wood, Kristen Connolly, & Bill Irwin Join Kelli O'Hara et al. in Public's KING LEAR; Cast Complete

The Public Theater announced complete casting today for KING LEAR, directed by James MacDonald, beginning preview performances on Tuesday, October 18. Kristen Connolly (Cordelia), Bill Irwin (The Fool), and Frank Wood (Cornwall) will join the company that includes the previously announced Che Ayende (Duke of Burgundy/Knight/Servant), Craig Bockhorn (Doctor), Michael Crane (Oswald), Herb Foster (Old Man/Knight), Seth Gilliam (Edmund), Enid Graham (Goneril), Michael Izquierdo (King of France), Michael McKean (Gloucester), Arian Moayed (Edgar), Kelli O'Hara (Regan), John Douglas Thompson (Kent), Richard Topol (Albany), and Sam Waterston (Lear).

Single tickets and Member tickets are on sale now at (212) 967-7555, www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater box office. KING LEAR will run thru Sunday, November 20 in the Newman Theater with an official press opening on Tuesday, November 8.

KING LEAR, Shakespeare's masterpiece, is one of the towering works of world literature. In no other play is Shakespeare's tragic vision more terrifyingly clear - and nowhere in his canon does he create a richer or more complex set of characters. When King Lear divides his kingdom among his three daughters, he sets in motion a cascade of violence that sweeps the civilized world to the brink of chaos, and Lear to The Edge of madness.

KING LEAR will feature scenic design by Miriam Buether; costume design by Gabriel Berry; lighting design by Christopher Akerlind; and sound design by Darron L West.

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James MacDonald (Director). In New York, Macdonald has directed The Book of Grace (The Public), Top Girls (MTC/Broadway), Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (The Public), Dying City (Lincoln Center), A Number (New York Theater Workshop) and 4.48 Psychosis (St. Ann's Warehouse). From 1992 to 2006, Macdonald was associate director of the Royal Court, where he directed world premieres of work by writers including Caryl Churchill, Sarah Kane, Martin Crimp, and most recently Mike Bartlett's Cock.

Che Ayende (Duke of Burgundy/Knight/Servant) recently appeared in The Public Theater's Public Lab production of Timon of Athens. His other Off-Broadway credits include The Day The Bronx Died, Inked Baby, Oroonoko, and All's Well That Ends Well. His regional credits include King Lear, The Cure (Yale Rep); Romeo and Juliet (A.R.T.); and Resurrection (Arena Stage, Helen Hayes nom).

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