Connecticut Repertory Theatre Opens Season with Shakespeare's KING LEAR

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) opens its 2016-17 season with William Shakespeare's King Lear. Associate Artistic Director Dale AJ Rose will direct. Performances will be held in the Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre from October 6ththrough October 16th, 2016. For tickets and information please visit crt.uconn.edu or call (860) 486-2113.

King Lear will coincide with the Folger Shakespeare Library's national tour of First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, which will bring a rare first folio to UConn's campus where it will be displayed September 1-25, 2016 in the William Benton Museum of Art. Celebrating the First Folio's visit to UConn, the Connecticut Repertory Theatre presents a play that has fascinated audiences for more than 400 years and stands as Shakespeare's most towering achievement,King Lear. The aging monarch resolves to retire and divide his kingdom. In the process his family and country are torn apart and so begins Lear's descent into madness. A once proud monarch is forced to wrestle with morality as he confronts his own mortality. As George Bernard Shaw wrote, "No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear."

Director Dale AJ Rose, who is the Director of Performance Training at The University of Connecticut says, "In examiningKing Lear, Why is it that wielding absolute power brings the focus away from those affected and onto the individual wielding the power. For Lear, it is only after he abdicates his poser that he begins to experience what it is to exist in this world and the responsibility to being human. Other themes include relationships of parents and children, what is unconditional love, do the gods exist and care about what we do to each other in this world?"

Graeme Malcom will lead the cast in the title role of King Lear. Malcolm appeared on Broadway in Equus, Translations, Aida, The King and I and the 1st National Tour of M. Butterly. His regional credits include several years as Scrooge in the McCarter Theatre production of A Christmas Carol, The Mousetrap also at the McCarter and Shadowlands at Denver Theatre Center. He has performed in Connecticut with roles in Pentecost (Yale Repertory Theatre), Under Milk Wood(Hartford Stage) and Travesties (Long Wharf).

Raphael Nash Thompson will play the role of Duke of Gloucester. Thompson recently concluded Pericles at Theatre for a New Audience under the direction of Trevor Nunn. Other regional credits include Electra (Hartford Stage), Drowning Crow (Goodman Theatre), The Winter's Tale (Alabama Shakespeare Festival) and Cymbeline (Huntington Theatre).

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

The creative team includes: Dale AJ Rose (Director), Pedro L. Guevara (Scenic Design), Margaret Peebles (Lighting Design), Raven Ong (Costume Design), Justin Graziani (Sound Design), Greg Webster (Fight Choreography), Karen Ryker (Voice & Text Coach), Ed Weingart (Technical Director) and Tom Kosis (Stage Manager).

The cast includes: MFA Actors: Michael Bobenhausen, Alrene Bozich, Darren Brown, Natalia Cuevas, Jeff DeSisto, Curtis Longfellow, Emile Saba, Meredith Saran, Bryce Wood. BFA Actors: Kent Coleman, Nick Greika, DerRick Holmes, Scott Redmond, Ben Senkowski, Ryan Shea, Andrew Smith, and Kristen Wolfe.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Select matinee performances start at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Single tickets are available now. Single tickets range from $7 to $30. All student tickets are only $7.

Children must be at least 4 years old to attend CRT productions. For additional ticket information or to charge tickets by phone, call 860.486.2113. All sales are final; no refunds. Play selections and performance dates are subject to change.

Please call the box office at 860.486.2113 for tickets and additional information or visit www.crt.uconn.edu for specific show dates and times because performance schedules vary and are subject to change.

The Harriet S. Jorgenson Theatre is located on the campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT.