NEW YORK - The arrival of "King Lear" at Lincoln Center last month created a buzz deserving of a play considered by many to be the finest work in the Shakespearean canon.

After all, the production, which quickly sold out its entire run through April 18, has a legendary director in Jonathan Miller and one of the world's best actors in Christopher Plummer as the mad king.

But the real source of the fanfare surrounding "King Lear" lies in a former railroad town in southern Ontario, Canada, that has been turning out classic drama for more than 50 years.

The Stratford Festival of Canada first put on this "King Lear" in 2002, and the play earned so much acclaim that it is having another run in New York, giving a bigger stage to the festival and several actors who have quietly become mainstays of the Shakespearean theater north of the border.

Virtually the entire cast of "King Lear" made its mark at Stratford, the largest classical repertory theater in North America. The festival has become an annual tradition for theater buffs, with hundreds of thousands of people making the pilgrimage to Stratford each year.

"It's a real wonderful company and I think it's great that New York audiences can share some of that - a certain sensibility that you wouldn't have anywhere else other than Stratford," Brent Craver, who plays Edgar in "King Lear," said during a recent interview.

Like his fellow cast members, Carver is no stranger to the Stratford Festival, having starred in such diverse productions as "Hamlet," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night over the last 24 years. He also is a familiar face on the New York stage, winning a Tony Award for "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and earning acclaim most recently for "Parade."

Richard Monette, artistic director of the Stratford Festival, said only a couple of plays over the last 35 years have moved to New York after debuting in the quaint city of 28,000 people.

"King Lear" rose to that level for several reasons, namely the overwhelmingly positive reviews and the fact that the Lincoln Center auditorium was based on the Stratford venue, Monette said. Festival leaders also wanted New York audiences to experience Plummer's memorable performance while giving lesser-known Stratford actors a chance to perform in the big city.

"It's good for them. It's good for the audience. But it's also exciting being in New York and being able to live there for a period of time," Monette said. "They love it. Maybe I'll be able to get them all back on the farm."

"King Lear" tells the story of an aging monarch who divides his kingdom between his two fawning daughters but banishes a third daughter who is more humble in expressing her love for her father.

As the king's mind begins to unravel, another familial struggle begins to unfold involving the Earl of Gloucester and his two sons - the conniving, illegitimate Edmund and the virtuous Edgar. The tragedy's theme of the relationship between children and their parents is best echoed by the play's famous line: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child."

Plummer delivers such lines with eloquence in a powerful performance as Lear. The role has earned rave reviews for Plummer, who also played the king during the play's Stratford run. Miller was the director then as well, which means New York theater audiences are witnessing a historic collaboration.

Miller was part of the famed 1960s British comedy revue "Beyond the Fringe," starring Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Peter Cook. He has written several books and directed numerous operas and plays, including "The Merchant of Venice," with Laurence Olivier.

"You'd have to read 74 books just to have an opinion against whatever Jonathan might say," said Geraint Wyn Davies, who plays Edmund in "King Lear."

Plummer's acting resume is just as impressive. His stage performances include "Othello" and "Barrymore," and film credits range from "The Sound of Music" to "The Insider." He also has been part of the Stratford Festival for most of its existence.

"He's a consummate actor. It's been fascinating to be with him," Carver said. "Just seeing him play the first scene in rehearsal, I just went 'hmmm'."

Carver and Wyn Davies are new additions to "King Lear." They both had chances to play the rival brothers during the Stratford Festival, but had other conflicts. They jumped at the opportunity for the New York run.

Carver said the role of Edgar presented many challenges, namely the difficult task of transforming from an unsuspecting brother to a disguised mad beggar who takes shelter in a hovel with the king in the second act.

"It's certainly not as the other characters go, certainly not a linear character," Carver said.

But a crucial one nonetheless.

"What happens to Gloucester and his son mirrors what happens to Lear and his daughters. It helps to reverberate Lear's journey," he said.

The Edmund played by Wyn Davies is not a typical Edmund. He is more comical, more engaging and does not have the "mustache-twirling, hand-wringing" qualities that previous Edmunds have had.

"It's not as malevolent as usual. We tried to make it more comical," Wyn Davies said.

The play has an unusual schedule - five performances a week as opposed to seven or eight, because the marathon acting demands on Plummer.

"This is the executive plan," Wyn Davies joked of the less-demanding schedule. "We just won the acting lottery."

ON THE NET

Stratford Festival: http://www.stratford-festival.on.ca

Lincoln Center: http://www.lct.org