Shakespeare Theatre of NJ Presents 'King Lear'

One of the greatest plays ever written, KING LEAR, takes the stage of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey beginning July 2 and continuing through July 27th.   Artistic director Bonnie J. Monte directs this epic production which has not been seen at the Shakespeare Theatre in nearly a decade.   Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays at The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage, the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue in Madison.   Tickets range from $29 (for previews) to $53 depending on performance day and time and seat location.   For tickets or more information, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.  Patrons may also purchase Ticket Packages for additional discounts.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for group discounts.

Considered by many to be Shakespeare's greatest achievement, this towering masterpiece brings one of literature's greatest anti-heroes to life in a tale where fools and madmen lead the blind through a harrowing symbolic journey of epic proportions.   

The production features television and theatre luminary Daniel Davis in the coveted title role of King Lear.   Davis' 40-year career includes work in prestigious theatres across North America including The American Shakespeare Festival, The Stratford National Theatre of Canada, The Guthrie and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.  On Broadway, Davis received a Tony Award nomination for Wrong Mountain and appeared in the revivals of La Cage Aux Folles and Amadeus.  Other Broadway productions include The Frogs and The Invention of Love.   He is perhaps most familiar to American audiences as Niles, the butler, on the hit television series The Nanny which he played for six seasons.  He also played Professor Moriarty on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  

Playing Lear's banished daughter Cordelia, who proves her love of her father is greater than words, is Shakespeare Theatre veteran Erin Partin.   She has appeared in A Christmas Carol, The Cherry Orchard and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, among others, at The Shakespeare Theatre as well as in productions at Milwaukee Rep, and The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival.  

Kristie Dale Sanders plays Goneril and Victoria Mack plays Regan, Lear's less than perfect daughters.   Sanders is in her fifth season with The Shakespeare Theatre and has appeared in Measure for Measure, The Rivals, Illyria and The Threepenny Opera.   Her Broadway credits include Urinetown and The Sound of Music.   Off-Broadway, she has appeared in Johnny Guitar, A Class Act and Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh.  

Victoria Mack is in her sixth season at the Shakespeare Theatre where she has appeared in Pride and Prejudice, As You Like It, Pygmalion and Of Mice and Men, among many others.

The role of the nobleman Gloucester is played by Shakespeare Theatre veteran Edmond Genest, celebrating his 13th season with this production.  Genest most recently appeared in The Time of Your Life.  Other Shakespeare Theatre credits include Pride and Prejudice, The Cherry Orchard and Life of Galileo, among many others.  His numerous Broadway credits include The Elephant Man with Billy Crudup, A Few Good Men and The Real Thing.  He has also appeared at numerous off-Broadway and regional theatres.  

Marcus Dean Fuller returns to the Shakespeare Theatre after appearing as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, to play Edmund, Gloucester's scheming son.   Fuller has appeared with Milwaukee Shakespeare, Yale Repertory Theatre and Pasadena Shakespeare Theater among others.  His television credits include General Hospital and the role of Dr. Steven Wallace on Guiding Light.  

Kevin Isola returns to The Shakespeare Theatre to play Edgar, Gloucester's second son.  Isola last appeared at the Theatre in As You Like It.  His Broadway credits include Brooklyn Boy at Manhattan Theatre Club.   Off-Broadway, he has appeared at Playwrights Horizons and The Public Theatre.

Ames Adamson takes the role of the Earl of Kent.  Adamson is in his sixth season at The Shakespeare Theatre where he most recently appeared in A Christmas Carol and Henry V.  Other company credits include King John, Love's Labour's Lost, Illyria and Merry Wives of Windsor.  Other recent credits include the role of Bernard Shaw in Engaging Shaw at the New Jersey Repertory Company.  

Shakespeare Theatre veteran Seamus Mulcahy returns to play Lear's jester, the Fool.  Mulcahy's Shakespeare Theatre credits include Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, Henry V and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.  He has also appeared at Paper Mill Playhouse and The Chautauqua Theatre Company.  

Other Shakespeare Theatre veterans appearing in King Lear include Nathan Kaufman Matt Bradford Sullivan and Scott Whitehurst.   Rounding out the cast are Fisher Neal, Derrick LeMont Sanders, Dan Lendzian, John Mulcahy, Nick Nappo, Craig Bazan, and Tyler Eglen.

Performances of KING LEAR begin July 2 and continue through July 27th.       Performances are Tuesdays through Sundays at The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage, the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue in Madison.   Tickets range from $29 to $53 depending on performance day and time and seat location.   For tickets or more information, call 973-408-5600 or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

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