Riverside Shakespeare Company
In 1985 the Riverside Shakespeare Company presented the New York premiere of "The History of King Lear", adapted with a happy ending by 18th-century English Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate, from William Shakespeare's "King Lear". The production was directed by W. Stuart McDowell, produced by Andrew B. Harris, who had joined Riverside as its executive director at the beginning of the season.
Riverside Shakespeare Company
Like Tate's other immensely popular "happy ending" version of "Romeo and Juliet" (which was a central part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of "Nicholas Nickleby") Tate's equally popular adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear" was the only performed version of "King Lear" for over 150 years, beginning in the late 17th century when Tate wrote his adaptation, through the early 19th century.