Annette Bening to Join John Lithgow in KING LEAR at Shakespeare in the Park?

Showbiz411 writes that Annette Bening is allegedly in talks for the role of 'Goneril' opposite John Lithgow in KING LEAR at Shakespeare in the Park in New York City this summer.

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The Public Theater's 2014 free Shakespeare in the Park season will feature Daniel Sullivan directing KING LEAR at the Delacorte Theater. The play runs July 22 through August 17.

KING LEAR was first staged at the Delacorte in its inaugural year, 1962, directed by Joseph Papp and Gladys Vaughan. The show featured Frank Silvera as Lear, Roscoe Lee Brown as Lear's Fool and John Cullum as the King of France. The last time it was staged at the Delacorte was in 1973, where it was directed by Edwin Sherin and featured James Earl Jones as Lear, Tom Aldredge as Lear's Fool, and Raúl Julia as Edmund. King Lear was staged at The Public Theater at Astor Place in 1996 with F. Murray Abraham as Lear and Jeffrey Wright as the Fool. It was presented again in 2007 with Kevin Kline as Lear and Michael Cerveris as Kent and was last presented downtown at Astor Place in 2011 with Sam Waterston as Lear, Bill Irwin as the Fool, Kelli O'Hara as Regan and Michael McKeanas Gloucester.

Four-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe-winner Bening has appeared on Broadway in 1987's Coastal Disturbances, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Her upcoming film projects include Imagine, The Search, Hemingway & Fuentes and more. Among her recent big screen credits are The Face of Love, Girl Most Likely, Ruby Sparks, Ginger & Rosa, The Kids Are All Right, Mother and Child, Running with Scissors, Being Julia and American Beauty.

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