TampaRep's KING LEAR Forced to Close

As has happened in theatres from Broadway to Buffalo, the coronavirus has claimed another victim. TampaRep's long-awaited production of Shakespeare's iconic tragedy KING LEAR opened to a small but powerful house on Friday, February 4th, and subsequently enjoyed an engaged Saturday night crowd. The cast, crew, and administrative team had no idea that would be the final performance.

"We got incredibly lucky with our last show (THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME) - I guess our luck just ran out," shared producing artistic director Emilia Sargent. "I feel so badly for the cast and crew who worked so hard, some of whom had been memorizing lines since 2019."

King Lear was originally slated as part of the Tampa Repertory Theatre's 2020 season of plays, but was preempted not only by the pandemic, but also by the unexpected death of the original director and founding producing artistic director, C. David Frankel.

"This production was intended to honor David," said Sargent, "with as much of the original cast and creative team as could be assembled. And I feel we were able to achieve that goal, if not for as long as we would have liked."

In further honor of the revered University of South Florida professor, TampaRep also partnered with the USF School of Theatre and Dance to create the C. David Frankel Memorial Scholarship. The fund will be administered by USF SOTAD, and will provide aid to students of merit who show promise in the theatre arts. More information about David, including a link to donate to the scholarship fund, can be found at tamparep.org/David.

Guests who had purchased tickets to KING LEAR are encouraged to contact TampaRep via email at boxoffice@tamparep.org or by calling (813) 556-8737 x1.

TampaRep's next production, John Patrick Shanley's THE DREAMER EXAMINES HIS PILLOW, is slated to be performed in June, also hosted by USF.