King Lear

Kenneth Branagh plays the foolish title character, one of the great tests of stage mettle—one might say it's the Mama Rose of classical theater—in Shakespeare's great tragedy of being, nothingness and elder abuse. The rest of the cast is made up of fledgling graduates from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; Branagh himself shares directing duties with Rob Ashford and Lucy Skilbeck. As in London last year, the production is set in prehistoric Britain, so expect a lot of fur pelts.