The History of King Lear
The History of King Lear is an adaptation by Nahum Tate of William Shakespeare's "King Lear". It first appeared in 1681, some seventy-five years after Shakespeare's version, and is believed to have replaced Shakespeare's version on the English stage in whole or in part until 1838.
The Yiddish King Lear
The title role became a pillar of Adler's image and career. "Theater Magazine" wrote of Adler's performance in a 1901 revival of "The Yiddish King Lear", "No finer acting has ever been seen in New York than Adler's gradual transition from the high estate of the Hebrew father distributing his bounty in the opening scenes to the quavering blind beggar of later developments." Even after he was nearly paralyzed by a stroke in 1920, Adler managed to play Act I of "The Yiddish King Lear" on several occasions as part of a benefit performance, since his character remained seated throughout this act; he played the role for the last time in 1924, two years before his death.
The play was made into a 1934 Yiddish-language film. The play continues to be revived often, and there have been several recent English-language translations and adaptations. In 2018, David Serero performs the play in his own English adaptation, featuring Yiddish songs of the era, at the Orensanz Foundation in New York and records the first cast album recording of the play