Franchelle Dorn to Lead LEAR Staged Reading at Long Center

Austin Shakespeare will present a staged reading of LEAR, one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, in the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center. Franchelle Stewart Dorn leads the cast as Lear, with her own daughters, Amani Dorn and Mary Dorn, playing Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan.

LEAR tells the story of a powerful aging monarch who divides her kingdom among her three daughters and triggers a surprising tragedy for herself and her world.

Dorn returns to Austin Shakespeare after playing the title role in the company's production of Medea and Amanda in its staged reading of The Glass Menagerie.

Helen Merino plays Cordelia, Lear's youngest daughter, and Marc Pouhé plays the Fool. Several out-of-town guest artists join the company. Ray Schultz, who played the title role in Austin Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in Zilker Park in 2025, plays Gloucester. Gwendolyn Kelso, who has performed numerous roles with the company, travels from Pittsburgh, where she teaches at Carnegie Mellon University, to play Edmund, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester. The cast also includes Samuel Grimes, Meredith O'Brien, Peter Shine, Kirk Barbera and Ev Lunning.

The design team includes resident lighting designer Patrick W. Anthony, projection designer Lowell Bartholomee and Costume Designer Aaron Kubacak, whose costumes combine contemporary clothing with medieval touches.