The International Theatre Program is staging Shakespeare’s tragic masterpiece this April. The stark set design and contemporary adaptation of the classic tale come via the artistic vision of Nigel Maister.

Many of our core values as a society—family, morality, loyalty, forgiveness, and redemption—are challenged in and by this work,” says Maister, who has been the theater program’s artistic director since 2002.

King Lear, which deals with fundamental questions of what it means to be human and what it means to live fully, is considered one of Shakespeare’s most poignant explorations of the limits of human mortality. While this is not the first International Theatre Program staging of King Lear, it does mark the first time a student has been cast for the lead role.

The play opens on April 12 at 8 p.m. in Todd Theatre and continues on April 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, and 28, with matinees at 2 p.m. on April 15, 21, 22, and 28. Tickets can be reserved online at www.rochester.edu/theatre or by calling the box office at x5-4088. Tickets also can be purchased at the door, one hour before the performance.

Pictured: Jonathan Wetherbee ’08 (above) plays Edgar/Poor Tom, and Jonathan Stulberg ’08 (above right) as King Lear, mourns the death of his daughter Cordelia, played by Anna Fagan ’08.