Click here to read the full article.
Jessica Chastain is returning to Broadway in “Lost Lear,” a play that puts a meta spin on “King Lear.”
Chastain was last on Broadway in “A Doll’s House,” an acclaimed 2023 revival of the Henrik Ibsen drama; this is her
first time appearing in a new show.
In “Lost Lear,” she will portray Joy, a middle-aged actress suffering from early onset dementia, whose one clear memory is performing in the Shakespeare classic. Chastain will star alongside Corey Stoll (“Appropriate”) and Michael Urie (“Once Upon a Mattress,” “Spamalot”), with additional casting to be announced at a later date.
Dan Colley wrote the show and will direct in his Broadway debut. Here’s the official logline: “As her grip on the present slips, Joy (Chastain), a former actress, is certain she’s back in rehearsal for ‘King Lear.’ At her care home, her nurse (Urie) takes his cues from her, stepping into whatever role she needs him to play. When her estranged son Conor (Stoll) comes to visit, he’s ready to tell his mother what he’s spent years leaving unsaid. But if he wants her to hear him, he’ll have to step into the scene. A limited event. A memory that will be impossible to leave behind.”
“Lost Lear” will premiere next spring at the Booth Theatre, with previews beginning on March 29, 2027 ahead of opening night on April 23. It will run for a limited 16-week engagement. The play was first workshopped and performed in Ireland in 2022 and has since been staged in various parts of the world, including New Zealand, the U.S., the U.K., Poland and Scotland.
“I never imagined, when we first made ‘Lost Lear,’ that it would one day be on Broadway — and I’ve imagined some pretty wild things,” Colley said. “I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to share this piece with New York audiences and to discover new facets of the work through collaborating with this remarkable company of artists.”
