Jessica Chastain, Michael Urie & Corey Stoll Will Lead LOST LEAR on Broadway

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Actor Award winner and Tony Award and Emmy Award nominee Jessica Chastain will return to the Broadway stage for 16 weeks in Lost Lear, a new play by playwright Dan Colley. Last seen on Broadway in the record-breaking Tony nominated revival, A Doll’s House, this is the first time Ms. Chastain will be seen in a brand-new play. Mr. Colley will also direct the production in his Broadway debut. Lost Lear begins performances on Monday, March 29, 2027 with an opening night set for Friday, April 23, 2027 at the Booth Theatre. 

Joining Ms. Chastain are Golden Globe and Tony Award nominee Corey Stoll and two-time Emmy Award nominee Michael Urie. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

“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,” playwright and director Dan Colley stated. “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.”

Academy Award® winner Jessica Chastain returns to Broadway alongside Golden Globe® nominee Corey Stoll and Emmy® Award nominee Michael Urie in Lost Lear, a deeply moving, astonishingly imaginative new play that marks the Broadway debut of writer-director Dan Colley.

As her grip on the present slips, Joy (Chastain), a former actress, is certain she’s back in rehearsal for King Lear. At her care home, her nurse (Urie) takes his cues from her, stepping into whatever role she needs him to play. When her estranged son Conor (Stoll) comes to visit, he’s ready to tell his mother what he’s spent years leaving unsaid. But if he wants her to hear him, he’ll have to step into the scene. A limited event. A memory that will be impossible to leave behind.

The design team for Lost Lear includes three-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask (production design), five-time Tony Award nominee Heather Gilbert (lighting design), Tony Award winner Cody Spencer (sound design), Tony Award winner Hana S. Kim and Yana Biryukova (projection design), Daniel McAuley (original music), Juniper Street Productions (production manager), Taylor Williams, CSA (casting), and Rachel Bauder (production stage manager), with 101 Productions, Ltd./Christopher Taggart serving as general managers. 

The play won the Scotsman Fringe First award at Edinburgh 2025, where it was presented at Traverse Theatre. Read BroadwayWorld’s review.

BIOGRAPHIES

Dan Colley (Writer & Director) is a theatre and film maker with a particular focus on devised ensemble work, adaptation and theatre for young audiences. Dan’s creative practice involves long periods of research and development with key collaborators from an early stage. Dan is interested in the slipperiness of realities and form. His adaptation of short stories by Blindboyboatclub, ANIMALS, was commissioned and produced by The Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s National Theatre, in 2026 as part of Dublin Theatre Festival. The Maker, a wordless, philosophical comedy explores power, illusion and the origins of the Universe for audiences aged 5 -9 premiered in 2025 in Dublin and has since played The South Bank Centre in London and Théatre de la Ville in Paris. His play Lost Lear won the Scotsman Fringe First award at Edinburgh 2025, where it was presented at Traverse Theatre. Premiering at Dublin Theatre Festival in 2022, it has since toured to the US, UK and New Zealand and has been described as “an astonishing piece of theatre” by the Financial Times in one of 22 five-star reviews for the show. His adaptation of A VERY OLD Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel García Márquez premiered in 2019 and has since had over 200 performances all over the world including London’s Unicorn Theatre, Scotland’s Imaginate Festival, the Irish Arts Centre in New York, and the Sydney Opera House. As Artistic Director of Collapsing Horse (2013-19) he directed nine original productions, created a series of ten radio plays, and an exhibition in the National Museum of Ireland. Dan was Co-Artistic Director of the Kilkenny Cat Laughs comedy festival from 2017-19. Dan was the Creative Director of Danse Macabre, a large-scale processional street theatre piece for Macnas. He was awarded the Arts Council’s of Ireland’s Next Generation Bursary Award in 2016. He is Theatre Artist in Residence in the Riverbank Arts Centre, he was appointed by the Minister for Culture to be a member of the Expert Advisory Group for Creative Youth, and is on the board of the Dublin Fringe Festival. Dan lives and works between Dublin and Newbridge, Ireland.

Jessica Chastain (Joy). Academy Award winner Jessica Chastain is one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and versatile actresses, recognized for her work across film, television, and stage. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, following nominations for The Help and Zero Dark Thirty. Most recently seen in Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy, Chastain will next star in Netflix’s Heartland, directed by Shana Feste, and the upcoming Apple TV+ limited series Off Weeks opposite Ben Stiller. She’s currently in production in the Netflix drama series The Retrievals, alongside Emilia Jones and Amy Ryan.  Notable credits include Interstellar, Molly’s Game, A Most Violent Year, Scenes from a Marriage, and The Help. She earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in Showtime’s George & Tammy and a Tony Award nomination for her Broadway performance in A Doll’s House. Chastain is also the founder of Freckle Films, whose productions include The Eyes of Tammy Faye, George & Tammy, and Netflix’s His & Hers. She received the American Cinematheque Award in 2024 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025.

Corey Stoll (Conor). Born and raised in New York, theater is Corey Stoll’s first love. He received a 2024 Tony Award nomination for his performance opposite Sarah Paulson in Brandon Jacob-Jenkins’s Appropriate. Other stage highlights include the title role in Macbethat CSC; ‘Iago’ in Othello, ‘Ulysses’ in Troilus and Tressida, and ‘Brutus’ in Julius Caesar for The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park; and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance opposite Viola Davis in Lynn Nottage’s breakthrough play Intimate Apparel. Most recently, he starred opposite Cecily Strong in the New York Times Critics’ Pick What Happened Was at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Stoll is well known to film and television audiences for his roles as ‘Peter Russo’ in “House of Cards,” (Golden Globe nomination),‘Mike Prince’ in “Billions”; ‘Darren Cross/M.O.D.O.K.’ in the Ant-Man films; ‘Earnest Hemingway’ in Midnight in Paris (Independent Spirit Award nomination), This Is Where I Leave You, First Man, West Side Story, The Many Saints of Newark, “Girls,” “The Deuce,” “Ratched,” “Scenes from a Marriage,” “The Romanoffs,” and Guillermo Del Toro’s The Strain. Stoll can currently be seen in the Apple limited series “Imperfect Women,” opposite Kerry Washington, and Elisabeth Moss. He most recently completed filming the starring role in the independent series “Recap” and is currently shooting an untitled Monsterverse series for Apple, as well as Dan Brown’s “The Secret of Secrets” for Netflix. Stoll holds an MFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. 

Michael Urie (Liam) Emmy-nominated actor, producer, and director Michael Urie is a decorated fixture of stage and screen. A three-time Drama Desk winner, two-time Lucille Lortel winner, and Obie Award recipient, Michael most recently starred in smash-hit comedy Oh, Mary! on Broadway, later reprising his role for its West End transfer and filmed pro-shot which will air on HBO in 2027. His extensive Broadway credits include Once Upon a Mattress, Spamalot, Chicken & Biscuits, Grand Horizons, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and the Tony-nominated revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song. Off-Broadway, he played the titular role in Red Bull Theater’s Richard II, originated his landmark solo turn in Buyer & Cellar, and starred in The Temperamentals and Homos, or Everyone in America. He has performed with Lincoln Center Theater, The Public Theater, Encores!, and Signature Theatre. Behind the scenes, Michael co-founded the Pride Plays festival and directed the Off-Broadway hits Bright Colors and Bold Patterns and Happy Birthday Doug. On television, Michael stars as Brian in Apple TV+’s Shrinking, earning two consecutive Emmy nominations and a Critics Choice Award. He first rose to prominence as Marc St. James on ’s Ugly Betty, with recurring turns on Younger, The Good Wife, and The Good Fight. Recent film credits include Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-nominated Maestro, Goodrich, and Netflix’s Single All the Way. Hailing from Plano, Texas, Michael trained at The Juilliard School.

Scott Pask (production design). Scott has received Tony Awards for The Book of Mormon, The Coast of Utopia and The Pillowman. Current Broadway: Other Desert Cities, Billy Crystal 860, Downstate, Schmigadoon (Tony Nomination) and The Book of Mormon. Selected Broadway: Little Bear Ridge Road, Good Night, and Good Luck, Glengarry Glen Ross, Grey House, Gutenberg! The Musical, Some Like It Hot, Shucked, American Buffalo, The Band’s Visit, Mean Girls, Pal Joey, Pippin, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, I’ll Eat You Last, Take Me Out, Waitress, NINE, HAIR, Urinetown. For Netflix: John Mulaney’s Kid Gorgeous, Baby J; Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna.

Heather Gilbert (lighting design) is an award-winning lighting designer for the stage. Her Broadway credits include Downstate, The Fear of 13 (Tony nomination), Bug (Tony nomination), Little Bear Ridge Road, Good Night, and Good Luck (Tony nomination), Dead Outlaw (Drama Desk nomination), Parade (Tony nomination), The Sound Inside (Drama Desk Award; Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations), and Cult of Love. Other highlights include Midnight at the Never Get at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, the world premiere of Girl, Interrupted at The Public Theater, Lowcountry at Atlantic Theater Company, and David Cromer’s acclaimed production of Our Town, which played Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Kansas City, and London. Her regional work includes productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, The Old Globe, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Court Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, and Writers Theatre, among others. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of Too Bad For Her at Atlantic Theater Company and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at New York City Center. She holds a BA from Trinity University and an MFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University and teaches lighting design at the University of Michigan.

Cody Spencer (sound design) Broadway: The Outsiders (Tony Award), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Dog Day Afternoon, The Last Five Years, Romeo + Juliet, Job. Co-Design Broadway: Gutenberg! The Musical!, Here Lies Love, The Pee-Wee Herman Show. Off-Broadway: Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen, Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes, The Energy Music Curfew Hour, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and Joan of Arc: Into the Fire. Off-Broadway Co-Design: Trevor, Here Lies Love (Lortel Award). Regional: David Byrne’s Theater of the Mind.

Hana S. Kim (co-projection design) Broadway: The Outsiders, Redwood, Real Women Have Curves, 860 with Billy Crystal, The Old Man And The Pool, Summer 1976. Off-Broadway/New York: Sumo, Eve’s Song (The Public Theater), Chinese Republicans (RoundAbout), A Knock On The Roof (NYTW), Everything Rises (BAM), Magdalene (Prototype Festival). New music/opera: Monkey King (San Francisco Opera), L’Orfeo (Santa Fe Opera), Nuit Sans Aube (Opera Comique). Awards: Tony Awards, Princess Grace Award, Sherwood Award from CTG, Helen Hayes Award, LA Drama Critics Circle Distinguished Achievement Award among others. www.hananow.com 

Yana Biryükova (co-projection design) Video artist and theatre designer based in NYC. Recent work: Disruption (Signature Theatre); The Meeting: The Interpreter (Theatre at St. Clements), Cosi Fan Tutte (Detroit Opera), Uncle Vanya (Krymov Lab NYC); Simona’s Search (Hartford Stage), Imogen Says Nothing (Yale Repertory Theatre), The White Devil (Red Bull Theater); Elian (Miami New Drama), Mlima’s Tale (Westport Country Playhouse). Film: The Karamazovs (Amazon Prime), Palimpsest (Venice Biennale), Alphabet City (Yale Art Gallery) among others. Yana has lectured at Harvard, Yale and Colgate universities. USA 829, IATSE. yanabiryukova.com

Daniel McAuley (original music) is a composer and vocalist based in Dublin, Ireland. He has written and performed music for film, ballet, radio, fashion and theatre, including the score for the award-winning original run of Dan Colley’s Lost Lear. Daniel began his career with the acclaimed Irish rock group, Cloud Castle Lake, and currently performs with the classical ensemble, Glasshouse. He has worked across many disparate disciplines with people such as Simone Rocha, Rob Kirwan and Alan Gilsenan and has performed in venues like the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern in London and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. A trained countertenor, Daniel uses his unusual voice, extended vocal techniques and complex electronic processing to create otherworldly, moving soundscapes in his work.

Photo Credit: Andrew Lipovsky (Urie headshot), Juankr (Chastain headshot)