Tale of 2 Kings: Troupes to Offer Dueling ‘Lears’

Declaring its inaugural two-play season “a modest success,” Shakespeare Orange County artistic director Thomas F. Bradac announced Tuesday that the troupe will offer “King Lear” and “Twelfth Night” next summer at Chapman University’s 256-seat Waltmar Theatre.

“King Lear” also will be the opening production next summer at GroveShakespeare in Garden Grove, artistic director Stuart McDowell confirmed Tuesday. Although the Grove has not announced its schedule, McDowell said Alan Mandell will star as Lear under his direction at the 550-seat Festival Amphitheatre.

Bradac, who will stage SOC’s “Lear” with Daniel Bryan Cartmell in the title role (slated for July 1 to Aug. 1), said the Grove’s head-to-head production will not affect his decision. “We’re going to have to face this choice of doing the same plays over a period of time,” he said, “and there’s no getting around it.”

Cartmell starred as Lear in 1988 in a Bradac-directed production for the Grove Shakespeare Festival, which Bradac founded and ran until he was ousted in 1991. He subsequently formed SOC, the county’s second professional classical company.

Bradac said SOC is “hoping for about 1,200 subscribers,” to its second two-play season. That would represent an increase of roughly 50% from its current subscription base of 860 season ticket holders.

SOC’s first two-play season, consisting of “The Winter’s Tale” and “Hamlet,” ended with a deficit of about $5,000, Bradac said. But he termed the season “a modest success.” Total expenditures came to about $140,000, of which $110,000 went to actual production costs.

“We did what we set out to do,” he noted. “The only difference next season is that we’ll be going from four-week runs for each play to five-week runs.”

“Twelfth Night” (Aug. 5 to Sept. 5) has not been cast, and no director has been named as yet.