
Langella, last seen on Broadway in Man and Boy, will star in the title role of Shakespeare's tragedy, which will be directed by Chichester associate director Angus Jackson and designed by Robert Innes Hopkins.
King Lear will receive its U.K. premiere Oct. 31-Nov. 30 at Chichester's Minerva Theatre. The BAM engagement will play Jan. 7-Feb. 9, 2014, at the Harvey Theater.
The cast will also feature Sebastian Armesto, Max Bennett, Denis Conway, Isabella Laughland, Catherine McCormack, Harry Melling, Lauren O'Neil, Steven Pacey, Rob Heaps, Tom Mothersdale, Chu Omambala, Michael Sheldon, Parth Thakerar, Tim Treloar and Alan Vicary.
The production will have production design by Robert Innes Hopkins, lighting design by Peter Mumford, music by Isobel Waller-Bridge and sound design by Fergus O'Hare. The Chichester Festival Theatre previously staged Macbeth at BAM in 2008.
"I am thrilled to welcome one of our greatest actors to the BAM stage in January," BAM executive producer Joseph V. Melillo said in a statement. "The Chichester Festival Theatre production of King Lear will provide New York audiences the opportunity to experience Mr Langella perform perhaps the most challenging role in the Shakespearean canon. It will be a significant theater experience and a momentous occasion for BAM." Frank Langella made his Broadway debut in Seascape and has also appeared on Broadway in Man and Boy, A Man for All Seasons, Match, Passion, Amadeus, The Father, Hurlyburly, Present Laughter and Design for Living. Langella is the recipient of three Tony Awards, for Frost/Nixon, Fortune's Fool and Seascape. Also a star of feature film, his movie credits boast "Dracula," "Lolita," "The Ninth Gate," "Small Soldiers," "Dave," "Diary of a Mad Housewife" and "The Twelve Chairs." He is an Academy Award nominee for "Frost/Nixon."
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