Tony Nominee Kelli O’Hara & More Join Sam Waterston in King Lear

Tony nominees Kelli O’Hara and Arian Moayed have joined the cast of the Public Theater's forthcoming production of King Lear, starring Sam Waterston in the title role. James Macdonald directs the Shakespeare classic, which will run from October 18 to November 20, with opening night set for November 8. Additional casting, including the central role of Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia, is forthcoming.

O’Hara will make her classical stage debut as middle daughter Regan, and Moayed will play the role of Edgar, alongside Richard Topol (Albany), Che Ayende (Duke of Burgundy/Knight/Servant), Craig Bockhorn (Doctor), Michael Crane (Oswald), Herb Foster (Old Man/Curan), Seth Gilliam (Edmund) and Michael Izquierdo (King of France). The new cast members join the previously announced Michael McKean as Gloucester, Enid Graham as eldest daughter Goneril and John Douglas Thompson as Kent.

When King Lear divides his kingdom among his three daughters, he sets in motion a cascade of violence that sweeps the civilized world to the brink of chaos, and Lear to the edge of madness.

O’Hara received Tony Award nominations for The Light in the Piazza, The Pajama Game and South Pacific. Her other Broadway credits include Jekyll and Hyde, Sweet Smell of Success, Follies and Dracula, the Musical. Moayed received a Tony nomination for his role in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo; off-Broadway credits include Masked, Queens Boulevard, American Pilot and Homebody/Kabul. Topol has appeared on Broadway in The Normal Heart and The Merchant of Venice.

Ayende’s off-Broadway credits include The Day The Bronx Died, Inked Baby, Oroonoko, and All’s Well That Ends Well. Bockhorn has appeared on Broadway in On Golden Pond and Prelude to a Kiss. Crane has been seen off-Broadway in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Doris to Darlene and A Cautionary Valentine. Foster has appeared on Broadway in The Merchant of Venice, Cymbeline, The Rivals, Kiss Me, Kate, Amy’s View and Me and My Girl. Gilliam’s theater credits include The Tragedy of Richard III, Iphigenia and Other Daughters, Girl Gone and The Maids. Izquierdo has appeared on Broadway in The Miracle Worker and off-Broadway in Go Back To Where You Are, New Jerusalem and Mother Courage and Her Children.

King Lear will feature scenic design by Miriam Buether, costume design by Gabriel Berry, lighting design by Christopher Akerlind and sound design by Darron L West.