Steppenwolf announces wide-ranging, inclusive upcoming season
A revival of Tracy Letts' “Bug” directed by Tony Award-winner and Skokie native David Cromer (“The Band's Visit”) is among the productions making up Steppenwolf Theatre's 44th season, the theater announced Thursday.
In a prepared statement, artistic director Anna D. Shapiro said the plays reflect a commitment to “create more stories for more of us” as part of a wide-ranging, inclusive season that features stories about people of color.
It commences Sept. 5 with Lauren Yee's “The Great Leap,” about an American basketball team's visit to Beijing during the late 1980s. That's followed on Nov. 7 by the premiere of ensemble member Eric Simonson's love story “Lindiwe,” which stretches from South Africa to Chicago blues club Kingston Mines and features the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
“Dance Nation,” Clare Barron's tale of a preteen dance troupe competing in a national championship, runs Dec. 12 through Jan. 26, 2020. Next up is “Bug,” Letts' second play. It's about a troubled veteran who believes the government experimented on him during his Gulf War service and runs Jan. 23 to March 8, 2020.
The Chicago premiere of “The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington” runs April 2 to May 17, 2020. Playwright James ljames examines America's original sin in the fever dream-inspired drama about the seriously ill Martha Washington, whose death means freedom for the slaves attending her.
May 7, 2020, marks the premiere of ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's “King James,” in a coproduction with Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group. Inspired by NBA star LeBron James' return to Cleveland and the championship that followed, it centers on estranged friends who “spar in a verbal game of 1 on 1, revealing past secrets, present truths, and a possible future after ‘The King' has left the building.” The season concludes with Mia Chung's drama “Catch as Catch Can” (June 4 to July, 26, 2020) about two working-class New England families in crisis.
Steppenwolf's young adults season begins Oct. 2 with ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney's ”The Brothers Size,” last produced at Steppenwolf in 2010 which marked the premiere of McCraney's trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays.” A compelling examination of the complex relationship between male siblings, it's about Ogun and his recently paroled younger brother Oshoosi.
That's followed on Feb. 26, 2020, by Isaac Gomez's “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” adapted from Erika L. Sánchez's novel about a Chicago high school student and aspiring writer who uncovers information suggesting her late sister wasn't as perfect as she appeared.
Performances take place at 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago. Memberships start at $100, with packages available. Call (312) 335-1650 or see steppenwolf.org/memberships.