Michael Urie to Star in Off-Broadway’s ‘Richard II’

Off-Broadway’s Red Bull Theater will welcome the multi-awarded actor Michael Urie in Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” Adapted and directed by Craig Baldwin, the new solo version of the immortal play will be staged as part of the theater company’s Revelation Readings program.

The new production will kick off Red Bull Theater’s 2025-26 season, with only two performances running on September 27 and September 28 at the Sheen Center Loreto Theater.

In this one-man reimagining of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Urie will step into the role of Richard II portraying his every ambition, betrayal and fall from grace.

“With striking minimalism and raw intensity,” the press release reads, “the production transforms Richard’s tiny prison cell into an epic battleground of identity and power, where a king’s divine right crumbles beneath the weight of human frailty.”

Urie’s performance and Baldwin’s multimedia adaptation will join forces to make Richard’s tragic descent freshly immediate.

The recipient of two Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, an Obie, an LA Drama Critics Award among others, Michael Urie appeared on many hit shows on TV including “Modern Family”, “The Good Wife,” “The Good Fight,” “Younger,” “Workaholics,” “Hot in Cleveland,” and more, along with “Shrinking” that still airs on AppleTV+. The actor has also starred in Off-Broadway’s “Buyer & Cellar,” “Homos, Or Everyone in America,” “A Bright Room Called Day” so far. His Broadway credits include “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” “Spamalot,” “Chicken and Biscuits,” “Torch Song,” and the musical comedy “Once Upon a Mattress.”

Australian director Craig Baldwin helmed Australian premieres of Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day,” Samuel D. Hunter’s “A Case for the Existence of God,” and Will Arbery’s “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,” as well as a new production of Benjamin Britten’s opera “The Turn of the Screw.” His production of Annie Baker’s “John” garnered seven Sydney Theatre Award nominations and was named Best Independent Production in 2020.

The Obie Award-winning Revelation Readings series is known with its focus on dynamic storytelling and performances of the most compelling classics. Each script-in-hand reading of the program takes place in an intimate setting, aiming to meet the audience with classical theater as well as art of dramatic literature.

Theater-goers can visit redbulltheater.com for more information and ticket purchasing options.