Steppenwolf veterans reunite for 50th season of classics, new works
Steppenwolf Theatre Company celebrates five decades of gutsy, ambitious productions and its distinctively visceral style of acting with a 50th anniversary season composed of classics as well as new and new-to-Chicago works.
The 2025-2026 season announced Wednesday marks the return of longtime ensemble member actors Francis Guinan, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Sally Murphy, Tim Hopper and Gary Cole along with fellow members actor/director Amy Morton, Tony Award-winning director and former artistic director Anna D. Shapiro, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney and Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph among others.
“Every play we programmed this season deals with generational tension, collision and the fight to belong,” said co-artistic directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis in a prepared statement. “They explore what happens when your version of home changes, when life doesn’t turn out the way it was supposed to and what it means to be radically accepted … or not.”
The season commences Sept. 11 with the Chicago premiere of Joseph’s “Mr. Wolf,” about a girl stolen from her parents as an infant who returns as a teenager to a family she doesn’t recognize.
That’s followed by Shapiro’s revival of “Amadeus” (Nov. 6-Jan. 4, 2026), Peter Shaffer’s tale of genius, jealousy and ambition about the rivalry between the Viennese court composer Antonio Salieri and the upstart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Next up is “Topdog/Underdog” (Jan. 29-March 22, 2026), Suzan-Lori Parks’ 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning dramedy about brothers and betrayal starring Steppenwolf powerhouses Glen Davis and Namir Smallwood directed by Kenny Leon, who helmed 2022’s Tony Award-winning revival.
The world premiere of McCraney’s “Windfall” (April 9-May 31, 2026) follows. When his child dies at the hands of the police, a grieving father is encouraged to accept the city’s cash settlement, relocate and forget his pain rather than remain where he is, poor and surround by the world from which he attempted to shield his child.
The season concludes with Morton’s Chicago premiere of “Catch as Catch Can” (June 4-July 12, 2026), the tale of a prodigal son whose New England homecoming throws two families into crisis. The all-ensemble cast of Cole, Francis and Hopper play multiple roles in Mia Chung’s kitchen-sink drama.
Performances take place at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Season memberships start at $160. They’re available at (312) 335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.