The show will now run in spring 2007. No specific dates have been announced. Kline is currently acting in Central Park in Mother Courage.
James Lapine will direct Kline at the Public. No other casting has been announced.
New York has been rich in Lears in recent seasons. In spring 2004, Christopher Plummer received copious praise when he played the mad king at the Vivian Beaumont. And a new production starring Alvin Epstein closed Off-Broadway July 2. Stacy Keach will play Lear at the Goodman Theatre this fall, with Robert Falls directing.
Kline has previously appeared in Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V and Hamlet (twice) at the Public Theater. He won raves recently when he played Falstaff in that history play at Lincoln Center Theater.