Steppenwolf's 43rd season to include world premieres, Sam Shepard revival
A world premiere by Pulitzer Prize-winning ensemble member Bruce Norris and a classic by the late Sam Shepard will bookend Steppenwolf Theatre's 43rd season announced Wednesday.
The season opens Sept. 20 with a coproduction with the National Theatre of Great Britain titled "Downstate." Norris' drama about forgiveness and retribution centers on a man confronting his childhood abuser in the southern Illinois home he shares with four other sex offenders. Tony Award-winning ensemble member Pam MacKinnon directs.
"Familiar," by actress-playwright Danai Gurira ("Black Panther," "The Walking Dead"), follows on Nov. 14. Gurira's dramedy is about a Zimbabwean-American family happily preparing for their oldest daughter's wedding. Their plans are upended after the bride insists on a traditional African ceremony.
Ensemble member Sandra Marquez directs the world premiere of "La Ruta" (Dec. 13-Jan. 27, 2019). Developed through Steppenwolf's new play program, Isaac Gomez's play is inspired by the stories of female factory workers in Mexico for whom a bus route can offer a ride to freedom or to death.
Next up is "A Doll's House, Part 2," Lucas Hnath's sequel to Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House." "Part 2" picks up 15 years later, with Nora returning to the family she abandoned with an awkward request. Steppenwolf's production marks the Chicago area premiere of Hnath's play, which earned Steppenwolf ensemble member Laurie Metcalf her first Tony Award in 2017. The production runs from Jan. 31 to March 17, 2019.
That's followed by Lucy Kirkwood's "The Children" (April 18-June 9, 2019), in which the tranquillity of a pair of retired nuclear scientists is shattered by a visit from a former colleague. The arrival calls up old jealousies and sparks a dangerous plan.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter and ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney ("Moonlight") returns to Steppenwolf for "Wig Out!" - an examination of identity and sexuality centered around New York City drag queens and their partners. McCraney acts in the production, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau, which runs May 23 to July 7, 2019.
The season concludes with Shepard's "True West" (July 5-Aug. 18, 2019), a drama about the charged, dysfunctional relationship between siblings Austin and Lee, which Steppenwolf first staged in 1982. That production, which marked the company's New York City debut, heralded Steppenwolf as a force to be reckoned with in the theater community.
Performances take place at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Flex memberships available for five, six or seven plays start at $100. They're available by phone at (312) 335-1650, at the box office or online at steppenwolf.org/memberships.