Homecoming: Steppenwolf Theatre’s ‘Catch As Catch Can’ marks ensemble member Gary Cole’s return to a Chicago stage

Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Gary Cole hasn’t stepped onto a Chicago stage in more than 25 years.

Since his breakout performance as convicted killer Jeffrey McDonald in the 1984 miniseries “Fatal Vision,” the actor has worked primarily in television (“NCIS,” “Veep,” “The Good Fight”) and in the cult comedies “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “The Brady Bunch Movie” and “Office Space,” among others.

But the chance to reunite with fellow ensemble member Amy Morton — who he has known since their time with Chicago’s Remains Theatre — was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“I really wanted to get back on stage,” said Cole, a Park Ridge native who grew up in Rolling Meadows. “Amy was the big attraction for me.”

Morton directs Cole and fellow Steppenwolf members Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper in the Chicago premiere of “Catch As Catch Can,” Mia Chung’s play about two families upended by the return of a prodigal son.

“When I worked with Amy as an actor early on at Remains, I immediately felt safe and connected. I learned a lot not just by working with her, but by watching her in other shows we did,” said Cole, who last worked with Morton on the London production of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning “August: Osage County,” in which she originated the role of Barbara Weston.

“The choices she made on stage always seemed to hit the right note in proportion and tone,” said the actor, who joined Steppenwolf in 1986.

Cole and his fellow actors play dual roles across genders. He and Hopper play mothers and their sons. Francis plays a father and daughter.

“It doesn’t easily work itself out in front of an audience … There are a lot of landmines,” Cole said. “It’s not meant to be easy. That appealed to me.”

Morton agrees. She says it’s the hardest play she’s ever done, bar none.

“I might have to retire after this,” she joked.

“It’s a really beautiful play,” she said of the intermissionless dramedy that unfolds over 15 scenes. “Some of it is hilarious. It’s also very moving.”

“It’s all about identity,” she said, “the identity you believe you have and the identity your family won’t let go.”

A Steppenwolf member since 1997, Morton describes the acting trio as gamers who “jump in feet first or head first, whatever you ask them.”

Having known and worked together off and on over more than 40 years, Morton and Cole have a shorthand that comes from a shared history. She shares a similar relationship with Hopper and Francis, who is one of Morton’s former students.

“It’s a relief,” knowing her colleagues as well as she does, Morton said. “I feel lucky we’re all in the same room doing this.”

Steppenwolf Theatre’s ensemble has grown and its home has expanded since Cole last performed here.

“There are spaces I never saw completed,” he said. “I’m standing in a room that didn’t exist when I started here.”

“To see the institution it’s become is pretty remarkable.”

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“Catch as Catch Can”

Showtimes: Previews at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, June 4-5, and June 10-12; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, June 6 and 13; and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 7. The show opens June 14, then runs 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through July 12.

Where: Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, (312) 335-1650, steppenwolf.org

Tickets: $20-$120