Photos by Brian Paulette

King Lear

by William Shakespeare
Presented in Partnership with UMKC Theatre
Directed by Ryan Artzberger
October 13 – 22, 2017
Spencer Theatre in the James Olson Performing Arts Center

Featuring
Theodore Swetz, Mark Robbins, Peggy Friesen, Logan Black, Heather Michele Lawler, Amy Billroth-Maclurg, Chelsea Kinser, Khalif Gillett, Charlie Spillers, Ken Sandberg, Duncan McIntyre, Jason Francescon, Freddy Acevedo, and Jay Love.

October delivers a new take on Shakespeare’s King Lear, starring Theodore Swetz with a cast that includes Mark Robbins, Peggy Friesen and Logan Black, this classic tale of tragic hubris, sibling rivalry, and heated passions will be produced in a renewed partnership between KCAT and UMKC Theatre. We’re excited to introduce bright new talents alongside some of the city’s finest veteran actors, all of it in service to one of the Bard’s finest works.

“We watch a crowned leader who has never done a thing for others suffer tremendously through his own blindness and narcissism. At the moment his heart breaks, he is filled with human insights of love, compassion, grace, trust, and loyalty. He dies a better person, and Shakespeare gives hope to us all for a possible redemption, even in our dying breath.”
– Tom Mardikes,
   UMKC Theatre

Director – Ryan Artzberger
Production Stage Manager – Kelsey York
Scenic Designer – Mark Exline
Costume Designer – Caroline Allander
Lighting Designer – Shannon Barondeau
Sound Designer & Composer – Zack Pierson
Dramaturg – Ellen Hayek
Assistant Stage Manager – Lisa Tinker
Assistant Stage Manager – Colin Fowler
Production Assistant – Rosalee O’Gara