Carlson, Epstein and Jones Set for Yale Rep 'Richard II'

Broadway star Jeffrey Carlson, most recently seen in Hamlet at D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre, will take on another Shakespearean title role with Richard II at Yale Repertory Theatre, according to Variety.

Carlson (Taboo, The Goat, "All My Children") will star as the ill-fatEd English monarch alongside Alvin Epstein (3 Penny Opera, No Strings, original Broadway Waiting for Godot) and Billy EuGene Jones (Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun).  Shakespeare's tragic history will run at New Haven, CT's Yale Rep from September 21st through October 13th.  Evan Yionoulis (The Violet Hour, Bhutan, Everett Beekin) will direct the production.

 "When the work received its first revival in 1599, the heirless Queen Elizabeth I faced a rebellion led by the Earl of Essex.  Elizabeth famously quipped, 'I am Richard II, know ye not that?' For theatre-goers today, Shakespeare's lyrical recounting of the fate of this king, who ruled fourteenth-century England, may resonate for reasons far different from Queen Elizabeth's:  Richard's approval ratings have plummeted; he leads an unpopular foreign war that is impoverishing the nation; and his cronies are helping themselves to the tax coffers," state Yale Rep production notes.

Visit www.yalerep.org for more information.

Photo of Jeffrey Carlson by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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