Richard II: Sean McNall to play title role

Broadway veteran Sean McNall, awarded a 2008 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance, will play the title role in the Pearl Theatre Company's upcoming production of William Shakespeare's Richard II, the second production in The Pearl's 2011-2012 season.

Further casting and production details are still to be announced.

The show opens at NY City Center's Stage 2 on the 20 Nov 2011, following previews from 8 Nov, and runs through to 24 Dec 2011.

A member of The Pearl's resident company since 2003, Sean McNall's most recent appearances at The Pearl were as 'Alceste' in 'The Misanthrope 'and 'Prince Hamlet' in 'Wittenberg.' Other featured roles with the company include 'Christy Mahon' in 'The Playboy of the Western World,' 'The Writer' in 'Vieux Carré' and the title role in 'Hamlet.' McNall was seen in 'Orson's Shaddow' at the Barrow Street Theatre, understudied for T.R. Knight on Broadway in 'A Life in the Theatre.'

Pearl's artistic director J.R. Sullivan said, "Sean McNall has excelled in one Shakespearean role after another at The Pearl. His remarkable facility with the language of the plays has been exemplified, perhaps most notably with his memorable Hamlet in 2007. Richard is a complex, enigmatic creature and his characterization is a thrilling challenge for an actor of Sean McNall's talent and experience."

Richard II charts the descent of one leader and the meteoric rise of another with the crown of England as prize and the future of the nation pitched perilously in the balance.

The Pearl Theatre Company's 28th season begins 13 Sep 2011 with Ionesco's 'The Bald Soprano.' Following Richard II will be 'The Philanderer' by Bernard Shaw in January 2012, and conclude with 'A Moon For The Misbegotten' by Eugene O'Neill in March 2012.