King Lear, starring Kevin Kline at the Public Theater

The Public Theater presents Shakespeare's King Lear, starring Kevin Kline, at the public's Anspacher Theater from 9 Feb 2007.

In his three-decade long history with The Public Theater, Kevin Kline has played numerous Shakespearean roles: Richard in Richard III; Henry in Henry V; Duke Vincentio in Measure for Measure; Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing; and the title role in two productions of Hamlet. For the first production of Hamlet he won the Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Theatre. The second production, which he also directed, received five Drama Desk nominations, including best director and actor nominations. Later, he co-directed a televised version of the production for the PBS Great Performances Series. For his performance in The Pirates of Penzance, which had a successful run at The Public Theater before transferring to Broadway, Kline won a Tony and a Drama Desk Award, as well as the Obie Award for Outstanding Achievement by an actor.

King Lear will be directed by James Lapine.

For The Public Theater, James Lapine directed A Midsummer Night�s Dream; The Winter�s Tale; David Henry Hwang�s Golden Child, which transferred to Broadway; and most recently The Public Sings: A 50th Anniversary Celebration at City Center.

Mr. Lapine is perhaps best known for his collaborations as librettist and director with Stephen Sondheim: Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; and Passion. With William Finn he collaborated on March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland later presented on Broadway as Falsettos as well as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, currently running on Broadway.