The role will be only the lastest of Schreiber's Shakespearean turns for the Public Theatre. He previously starred in Public productions of Hamlet, Othello, Cymbeline and Henry V. The latter two were at the Delacorte. He won an Obie Award for Cymbeline.

The actor told Playbill.com back in June 2005 about his wish to portray the warlike Scot. "Like every actor, I’d like to play Macbeth," he said. "I’ll be going down to the New York Shakespeare Festival and talking to Oskar Eustis."

In between his classical roles, Schreiber found time to appear in Harold Pinter's Betrayal on Broadway and the premiere of Neil LaBute's The Mercy Seat Off-Broadway at MCC Theatre.

Kaufman directed the Broadway production of I Am My Own Wife, as well as the Off-Broadway shows Gross Indecency and The Laramie Project for his own Tectonic Theater Project company.

Lady Macbeth and all the other roles are yet to be cast. Dates are June 13-July 7.

As previously announced, the second Central Park offering in 2006 will be Mother Courage with Meryl Streep. Dates are Aug. 8-Sept. 3. George C. Wolfe directs.