Steppenwolf Theatre resets season in the shadow of COVID-19

Steppenwolf Theatre announced its 2020/2021 "reset season" will include a new virtual platform and "risk free membership" that guarantees a refund if theater artists are unable to perform or if patrons don't feel comfortable attending a performance out of public health concerns.

Initiated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered the nation's theaters in March, Steppenwolf's reset season will consist of four plays instead of six and will include the first transfer of a young adult production to the main stage.

Steppenwolf's season begins in mid-December with "Good Night and Good Luck," adapted from writer/director George Clooney's film about journalist Edward R. Murrow. That's followed by the remount of the young adult, coming-of-age production "I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" and a portrait of Black love titled "Last Night and the Night Before." The season concludes with Tarell Alvin McCraney's "Choir Boy."

In the event the coronavirus impedes the season or patrons feel uncomfortable returning to the theater, Steppenwolf offers the following alternatives: Patrons can receive a full refund, they can roll the money into an account to be used for a future production or they can donate the value of the ticket to the company.

Virtual programming includes a production of Arthur Miller's radio play "The American Clock" featuring 30 ensemble members streaming through July 1. That will be followed later this summer by a virtual revival of Tarell Alvin McCraney's "In the Red and Brown Water."

For more information, see steppenwolf.org.