King Lear

James Earl Jones delivers a riveting performance as paranoid patriarch King Lear, an aging monarch who insists that his three daughters prove their love for him, only to learn he's exalted the two who seek to destroy him. This live performance recording of Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival production deftly envisions the bard's haunting tragedy with a fine supporting cast, including Raul Julia, Paul Sorvino and Rene Auberjonois.

Director: Edwin Sherin

Cast

James Earl Jones

King Lear

D

Douglass Watson

Kent

Paul Sorvino

Gloucester

Raúl Juliá

Edmund

Rosalind Cash

Goneril

Lee Chamberlin

Cordelia

Ellen Holly

Regan

R

Robert Stattel

Albany