The downtown company commissioned Lee to pen the work that takes the focus off the feeble king and examines the desires of the adult children about him. Lear began performances Jan. 7 and officially opened Jan. 14. The run was originally scheduled to conclude Jan. 31.

Lee directs a cast that features Paul Lazar, April Matthis, Okwui Okpokwasili, Pete Simpson and Amelia Workman. Dean Moss choreographs.

The production has designs by David Evans Morris (scenic design), Roxana Ramseur (costume design), Raquel Davis (lighting design) and Matt Tierney (sound design).

Lear, according to press notes, "focuses not on the aging Lear and Gloucester, but rather on their adult children who turned their backs on their fathers' suffering. Though intensely personal, Young Jean Lee's Lear is a striking tragedy about despair, the end of life and familial piety."

Lee is currently under commission from Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She serves as artistic director of the Young Jean Lee Theatre Company, and has directed the plays The Shipment; Church; Pullman, WA; Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven; The Appeal; and Groundwork of Metaphysic Morals. For more information visit SohoRep. Soho Rep is located at 46 Walker Street in Manhattan.