Jessica Chastain will return to Broadway in “Lost Lear,” a new meta-theatrical drama built around Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” The production marks Chastain’s first Broadway appearance in a new show.
She will play Joy, a middle-aged former actress experiencing early onset dementia. As her connection to the present fades, Joy remains convinced that she is rehearsing “King Lear,” the performance at the center of her clearest surviving memory.
Chastain will be joined by Corey Stoll, whose stage credits include “Appropriate,” and Michael Urie, who has appeared in “Once Upon a Mattress” and “Spamalot.” Further casting will be announced later.
“Lost Lear” begins previews at Broadway’s Booth Theatre on March 29, 2027, before an April 23 opening night. The production is scheduled as a limited 16-week engagement.
Inside the Play’s Theatrical Premise
Dan Colley wrote the play and will also direct, making his Broadway debut. The story uses Joy’s memories of Shakespeare’s tragedy to shape encounters inside her care home.
Urie will portray Joy’s nurse, who responds to her belief that she is back in rehearsal by taking on whichever role she needs him to play. Stoll plays Conor, Joy’s estranged son, who arrives prepared to say what he has left unspoken for years.
Reaching Joy, however, requires Conor to enter the world she now inhabits. Rather than trying to pull her out of the imagined rehearsal, he must become part of its scene if he wants the chance to be heard.
That framework gives “Lost Lear” its layered connection to the Shakespeare play: Joy’s past as an actress, her fragmented present and her unresolved relationship with her son all converge through performance.
A Journey From Ireland to Broadway
Although this will be the play’s Broadway arrival, “Lost Lear” has already traveled widely. It was initially workshopped and performed in Ireland in 2022 and has since been staged in New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland and Scotland.
Colley said he did not foresee the project reaching Broadway when it was first created.
“I never imagined, when we first made ‘Lost Lear,’ that it would one day be on Broadway — and I’ve imagined some pretty wild things,” he said. “I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to share this piece with New York audiences and to discover new facets of the work through collaborating with this remarkable company of artists.”
The engagement also brings Chastain back to Broadway after her appearance in the acclaimed 2023 revival of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.” While that production revisited an established drama, “Lost Lear” places her in a new show for the first time on Broadway.
ShowBiz Take
“Lost Lear” is a significant Broadway step for both its star and its creator. Chastain’s return follows a high-profile revival, but this time she is taking on a new role in a play that filters a classic theatrical text through memory, illness, care and a strained family relationship.
For Colley, the production represents a Broadway debut after the work’s international development and staging history. Its limited 16-week run also makes the engagement a defined theatrical event, with Chastain, Stoll and Urie forming the announced core of a story in which acting is not simply Joy’s former profession but the way other characters attempt to reach her.
What Happens Next?
Additional cast members remain to be announced before performances begin. “Lost Lear” will start previews at the Booth Theatre on March 29, 2027, followed by its official Broadway opening on April 23.