REVIEW: Circus HAMLET Via The New York Circus Project at Chicago's Studebaker Theater Through August 18th, 2024

This Tragedy's a Triumph!

ChiIL Mama's Chi, IL Picks List

 

Circus meets Shakespeare in cutting-edge production 

Geared toward adults but recommended for all ages 4+

90 minutes/no intermission

REVIEW

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

A 90 minute circus arts filled Hamlet?! Yes please! Last night I had the pleasure of ChiILin’ at New York Circus Project’s Hamlet, at Studebaker Theater, and I was absolutely gobsmacked by this powerful production. This is the first Chicago visit for The New York Circus Project, and we fervently hope it won't be the last! I belatedly found out about the production, and I'm so happy they were able to squeeze me in to review on this short run. Get thee to the Studebaker. Fans of Circus Arts, Shakespeare, and actors performing super human feats, don't miss this! Highly recommended. ★★★★ Four out of four stars.

Here at ChiIL Mama, we're no strangers to circus arts or Shakespeare. Since 2008, we've been covering Cirque du Soleil, Ringling, and other modern and traditional circuses from around the world, and right here at home. In fact, my son and daughter were cast in numerous youth circus arts show at Chicago's Actors Gymnasium, and were on the circus performance team at Circesteem. They also took classes at MSA and Aloft. So, I can attest to the talent and skills of this company. I've also been a theatre critic for 16 years, reviewing a plethora of professional productions of The Bard's works, including multiple Hamlets. This one is completely unique, highly entertaining, and a must see!

 

We were wowed by the aerial arts, partner acro, and sheer variety of circus skills rolled into this fast paced production. The hour and a half flew by. Everything was stellar from the actors, to the set, choreography, lighting, and song choices. The music spanned decades, from classics to contemporary, and added much. I want the playlist! 

My only criticism is that I wish the dialogue was as loud as the music. We were about halfway back on the main floor, and when the actors were upstage or turned away, it was a struggle to hear all the lines. This may be a venue issue. As much as we adore the art deco charm of The Studebaker Theatre, it was built in 1898... Still, it seemed as if the actors were not wearing mics, or if they were, they need to be turned up. It's a cavernous space to project in with only stage amplification! 

Overall, this is an excellent pick for multigenerational fun. All the circus skills are hella impressive. And we were completely entranced by Ophelia’s gorgeous, water contortion death scene! This abridged version retains all the key plot points, famous lines, and favorite characters, while keeping the action flowing fast. Yes, everyone dies, so don't expect a lighthearted fluff piece of a circus show. Still, it's a great, fast paced, playful way to introduce the littles (and Bard-wary adults, too) to a love of Shakespeare. Flippin' fantastic! ★★★★ Four out of Four Stars 

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

“ …dramatizing the inner conflict of the characters through dance and circus created a fundamentally different viewing experience than most productions of the play…utterly creative and original” (Columbia Bwog)

“Breaking the boundaries of art forms and time, ‘Hamlet’ ultimately traversed the lines of what a Shakespeare play should look like—revealing an undiscovered terrain within the arts world waiting for interdisciplinary talents to fill it with color.” (Columbia Spectator)

“...immensely effective in forwarding the tense, psychological themes at the heart of Hamlet”(The Blue and White)

The New York Circus Project brings HAMLET, an innovative, circus-infused retelling of the Shakespearean classic to Chicago, IL as the final stop in its premier touring season.

HAMLET upends what audiences expect of Shakespeare by blending theater with circus arts to arrive at a unique iteration of a well-known tragedy. The production’s fast-paced, abbreviated script is balanced with circus acts that change the story’s tempo and allow for deeper exploration of the internal, emotional conflict at hand. 

Hamlet’s delirium materializes in an explosive group acrobatic tableau, Ophelia’s life flashes before her eyes during a last-breath contortion performance in a water filled basin, and the ghost of Hamlet’s father’s famous monologue is reimagined as a solo aerial dance act.

By oscillating between scenes with dialogue and circus performance, the lines between realism and internal monologue blur. Comparable to the use of song to emphasize emotional or narrative beats in musical theater, this interdisciplinary approach fills Shakespeare’s Hamlet with new color and life.

HAMLET opens at Studebaker Theater from August 15th to August 18th. 

Tickets are on sale now! Website: newyorkcircusproject.org

Evening performances are at 8pm, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday. 

Tickets are priced between $49 and $79.

New York Circus Project is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to producing contemporary circus shows in New York City and the United States, using acrobatics as a medium for presenting classic texts in a visually striking and unique way. Additionally, New York Circus Project produces free-to-the-public, family friendly circus cabaret performances on the streets of New York City. 

Rough House Theatre’s House of the Exquisite Corpse, returns to Steppenwolf’s Merle Reskin Garage Space, October 10-November 2 , 2024!

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Chicago’s only immersive puppet haunted house 

House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions

Chicago’s one and only immersive puppet haunted house 

returns October 10-November 2 

at Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage Space

Here at ChiIL Live Shows & ChiIL Mama, we've caught every year of Rough House's House of the Exquisite Corpse, since its inception. Aside from their pandemic era offering with full face shields, that fogged up like aquarium glass, it's been a macabre delight. 

Chicago’s only immersive puppet haunted house, House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, returns October 10-November 2 at Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage Space with an all-new program of puppet horror sure to shock, astonish and inspire.

Fans of Halloween, haunted houses, puppetry and live theater are the ideal audience for House of the Exquisite Corpse, where original puppetry, physical performance, soundscape, and illusion combine for a frightfully fun night of smart, creative adult Halloween revelry. 

Or, as the Chicago Reader put it, “if you want to move beyond schlock and shock into an elevated horror experience this October, look no further than House of the Exquisite Corpse.”

Rough House Theater's House of the Exquisite Corpse III in 2023 featured this puppet by Grace Needlman and Pablo Monterubio, puppeteered by Lindsey Ball. Credit: Yvette Marie Dostatni

Rough House Theater's House of the Exquisite Corpse III featured puppets by artists Justin D’Acci and Sion Silva. Credit: Yvette Marie Dostatni

Each fall, Rough House Theatre’s puppet haunt returns with a new theme. 2024 is the year of Superstitions.

So don’t step on a crack, because six teams of Chicago artists who work in puppetry and other disciplines have joined to create six different puppet horror experiences, each inspired by a different superstition:

“Step on a crack”

By Ken Buckingham and Corey Smith

“Broken Mirror”

by Justin D’Acci and Pablo Monterrubio

“If you lie, the devil’s darning needle will sew your mouth shut”

By Chio Cabrera, Alonso Galue and Brett Swinney

“Through the Looking Glass”

By Felix Mayes and Cam Armstrong Smith

“A White Bird in the House is an Omen of Death”

By Jacky Kelsey, Fletcher Pierson and Kevin Wesson

“An ill fate befalls those who pluck from fruit in their dreams”

By Sion Silva and Emilie Wingate



House of the Exquisite Corpse III features puppets by Ken Buckingham, puppeteered by Felix Mayes and Kevin Michael Wesson. Credit Yvette Marie Dostatni



House of the Exquisite Corpse III featured puppets by Emilie Wingate and Tom Lee, puppeteered by Sam Lewis. Credit Yvette Marie Dostatni

Enter House of the Exquisite Corpse IV: Superstitions, if you dare.

First, you’ll gather in a make-shift foyer, where a bar sells beer, wine and a truly horrifying speciality cocktail (TBA).

Next, small groups enter via timed entries. Once inside, they huddle close together, braving the house’s dark, murky expanse, stopping by each “room” to spy through keyholes, cracks, and hidden doors to witness the carnage, horrors, and sometimes, humor, happening inside. 

“Our Halloween production gives local puppet artists the freedom to follow their own visions, create their own visuals, and be motivated by whatever flavor of horror that freaks that person out the most,” said Mike Oleon, Co-Artistic Director of Rough House, who conceived House of the Exquisite Corpse with fellow Co-Artistic Director, Claire Saxe.

“Then we all come together to assemble a collaborative installation that, collectively, blurs the lines between horror, puppetry and theater, beckoning you to gaze into a variety of nightmares you won’t soon forget.”

Opening Night is Thursday, October 10. Visit House of the Exquisite Corpse, if you dare, Thursday through Saturday, through November 2. Ticketed entries are every 15 minutes, starting at 7 p.m. Last entry at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are $21-$46, and go on sale August 18 at RoughHouseTheater.com. Rough House also offers several Pay What You Want options. This production is recommended for audiences ages 14 and over.

House of the Exquisite Corpse III featured this puppet by

Grace Needlman and Pablo Monterubio, puppeteered by Lindsey Ball.

Credit: Yvette Marie Dostatni



House of the Exquisite Corpse III featured puppets by Jacky Kelsey, puppeteered by Chio Cabrera and Lucy Wirtz. Credit Yvette Marie Dostatni

About Rough House Theater Co.

Rough House Theater Co. is on a mission to connect individuals and communities through art that celebrates the weird things that make us unique and the weirder things that bring us together.

Rough House creates theater that captures the heart through the eye. Their shows use puppetry, music, and human performance to tell intimate stories, as strange as they are sincere. Through performances, presentations of work by fellow artists, and artist training, Rough House aspires to make Chicago a national hub of contemporary puppet theater, comprising a diverse and ever-growing community of audiences and artists. 

Earlier this year, the Chicago Reader named Rough House Theatre Company’s Nasty, Brutish & Short puppet cabaret series “Best late-night adult-content puppet cabaret.” The company’s work has also appeared in the National Puppetry Festival, The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, punk houses, funeral parlors, a lotion factory, and the woods of Appalachia.

For more information, visit RoughHouseTheater.com and follow the company on Instagram and Facebook.

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk Via Northlight Theatre September 5 – October 6, 2024

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Northlight Theatre opens 2024-2025 season with

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk 

By Daniel Jamieson

Music by Ian Ross

Stage and Movement Direction by Elizabeth Margolius

Music Direction by Michael Mahler

Featuring Jack Cahill-Lemme and Emma Rosenthal

September 5 – October 6, 2024

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, opens its 2024–2025 season with The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk by Daniel Jamieson, music by Ian Ross, stage and movement direction by Elizabeth Margolius, with music direction by Michael Mahler. The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk runs September 5-October 6, 2024, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. I'll be out for the press opening September 12th, so check back soon for my full review. 

Marc Chagall and his poet wife Bella were partners in life and in art. Their romance is immortalized in a feast of music, dance, and paintings brought-to-life, capturing the essence of a marriage that soared above the upheaval through which it endured. From their first meeting in Vitebsk, and through the Russian revolution, pogroms, and two world wars, their joy manifests in moments as vibrant and whimsical as the treasured artist’s best-known works. With a klezmer-inspired score, wistful songs, and inventive staging, Flying Lovers celebrates the inspiring life and love of an extraordinary couple.

**A different piece based on the same artist, Chagall in School by James Sherman, was directed by Northlight Associate Artistic Director Georgette Verdin at Theater Wit in 2022. We adored it, here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows and gave Chagall in School a highly recommended rating.** 

“One of the joyous reasons to attend live theatre is the celebration of movement, music, and text. And The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is certainly an example of that,” comments Artistic Director BJ Jones. “Marc Chagall and his wife Bella guide us through their lives revealing the love and longing of a life in art. Unwelcome in their home in Russia, navigating pogroms and antisemitism, Marc and Bella struggled to achieve their artistic dreams, raise a child, and survive the destruction of their beloved Vitebsk, all while creating bold and whimsical art. Here in Chicago, we are blessed with Marc’s work at the Art Institute of Chicago with the America Windows, and his Four Seasons mosaic resides at Chase Tower Plaza downtown. This charming whimsical production is a fitting theatrical companion piece to Marc Chagall’s work.”

**Marc Chagall had a fondness for Chicago, which he first visited in 1946. He said he was impressed by the city’s architecture and the friendliness of its people, and he formed lasting friendships with his admirers and patrons – an association which led to his creation of the Four Seasons mosaic at Chase Tower Plaza (then known as First National Bank Plaza), and his gifting of America Windows to the Art Institute of Chicago.**

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk features Jack Cahill-Lemme (Marc Chagall) and Emma Rosenthal (Bella), with ensemble/musicians Elisa Carlson and Michael Mahler.

The creative team includes Elizabeth Margolius (stage and movement director), Michael Mahler (music director), Daren Leonard (associate director), Scott Penner (set design), Rachel Lambert (costume design), Charlie Cooper (light design), Willow James (sound design), Leo Bassow (props design), Jessica Deahr NeVille (lift consultant), Jyreika Guest (resident violence and intimacy coordinator), and Katie Klemme (stage manager).

About the Artists

Daniel Jamieson (Playwright) worked with Theatre Alibi in Exeter, UK for more than 30 years as associate writer and adaptor, performer and artistic director. His work as a writer for Alibi includes: River Land, Falling, Hammer and Tongs, Goucher’s War, Cobbo, Caught, One in a Million, The Freeze, Shelf Life, Little White Lies, The Swell, Sea of Faces and Birthday. In 2015 he won an ACA award for his writing for children with the company. Daniel’s play The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk was produced by Kneehigh Theatre and won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award in 2017. Since then, The Flying Lovers has been produced in the States by Quantum Theater in Pittsburgh, Forward Theater in Wisconsin and Winnipeg Jewish Theater. Daniel has written five plays for BBC Radio 4 and has also written for Polka Theatre, London Bubble, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Northampton Theatres. In 2013, Daniel was Leverhulme artist-in-residence at the University of Exeter’s Mood Disorders Centre.

Ian Ross (Music) is a Bristol based multi instrumentalist, composer, and Head of music for The School for Wise Children. He leads the band Eleven Magpies. Theatre for Kneehigh includes: Brief Encounter, The Red Shoes, Don John, The Wild Bride, Tristan and Yseult, Dead Dog in a Suitcase, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk. Theatre as Music Director includes: Girl from the North Country (Toronto 2019, Runway). Theatre as Composer includes: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe); The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk (Kneehigh); Wise Children, Malory Towers, Bagdad Café and Wuthering Heights (Wise Children); London Tide (National Theatre). Film as Composer includes: The Princess and Peppernose (RSA and Joe Wright). Nominations include: Dora Mavor Award for Outstanding Musical Direction 2020 (Girl from the North Country), Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play 2023 (Wuthering Heights).

**A Jeff Award winning stage and movement director, Elizabeth most recently won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Director of a Musical for Shattered Globe’s London Road and recently directed Fiddler on the Roof at Drury Lane Theatre.**

Elizabeth Margolius (Stage and Movement Director) A Jeff Award winning stage and movement director, Elizabeth most recently won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Director of a Musical for Shattered Globe’s London Road, and she is excited to be making her debut at Northlight. A five-time Jeff Award nominee, Elizabeth’s selected directorial credits include work with Drury Lane Theatre, American Stage, Opera Southwest, Peninsula Players, Renaissance Theaterworks, Firebrand Theatre, Chicago Opera Theater, Underscore Theatre, Chicago Folks Operetta, American Theater Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater (Assistant Director), City Lit Theater, and Bohemian Theatre Ensemble. Elizabeth is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. www.elizabethmargolius.com

Jack Cahill-Lemme (Marc Chagall) is making his Northlight Theatre debut. He was most recently seen on Broadway and the National Tour of Moulin Rouge! Select credits include: Gerry Goffin in Beautiful (John W Engeman), Barry Mann in Beautiful (North Shore MT), Sonny in Grease (Marriott Theatre, The Rev), Kenicke in Grease (Casa Mañana), Leonard Cowherd III in Letters Home (Griffin Theatre), Jack in What A Wonderful World (Timberlake Playhouse - World Premiere), Kinky Boots (Paramount Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Drury Lane), Seussical & Junie B. Jones (Marriott Theatre), and more. 

Emma Rosenthal (Bella) makes her Northlight debut. Chicago credits include: Fiddler on the Roof, Peter and the Starcatcher, West Side Story, Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast (Drury Lane Oakbrook); Big Fish, Hello Dolly (Marriott); Athena (Writers Theatre); The Fantasticks (Porchlight); The Tempest (Steppenwolf); Brigadoon. Candide (The Goodman). Off Broadway: The Threepenny Opera (Marvell Rep, Drama Desk Nomination: Best Musical); Liberty (Theatre80). Regional credits include: Indiana Repertory Theatre, Peninsula Players, Huntington Theatre, Weston Playhouse, Cardinal Stage, Williamstown Theatre Festival. A proud graduate of Northwestern University, Emma is also a competitive powerlifter and pastry chef (you may have seen her and her mom on Season One of Fox's Crime Scene Kitchen).

Elisa Carlson (Ensemble) is making her Northlight debut. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and theater from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Chicago credits include: Once (Writers Theatre and Paramount Theatre), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (Porchlight Music Theatre), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (American Blues Theater), One Man, Two Guvnors (Court Theatre), Pop Waits (Neo-Futurists), and American Idiot (The Hypocrites).  Elisa is also a 20-year veteran of the solo and dueling piano bar scene in Chicago and around the world.

Michael Mahler (Music Director and Ensemble) is excited to make his Northlight debut. Chicagoland credits include The Last Wide Open, It’s a Wonderful Life, Buddy, Little Shop of Horrors, Side Man, Hank Williams: Lost Highway (American Blues); The Music Man, Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas, City of Angels, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Marriott); Into the Woods (Writers); The March (Steppenwolf), and Working (Broadway Playhouse). Michael is the Jeff award-winning composer/lyricist of October Sky, Hero, Miracle, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, An American Tail, My Little Pony: A New Generation and others. Proud husband to Dara Cameron, father to Ezra, and ensemble member of American Blues Theatre.

Dates:

Previews begin September 5, 2024

Press Opening: Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:30pm

Regular run: September 13-October 6, 2024

Schedule:      

Tuesdays: 7:30pm (September 10 only)

Wednesdays: 1:00pm and 7:30pm

Thursdays: 7:30pm 

Fridays: 7:30pm

Saturdays: 2:30pm (except September 7) and 7:30pm

Sundays: 2:30pm and 7:30pm (September 8 only)

Backstage with BJ – Northlight’s popular discussion series with Artistic Director BJ Jones – will be held August 30 at 12pm.

An Open Captioned performance will be held on Friday, September 27 at 7:30pm. An Open Captioned and Audio Described/Touch Tour performance will be held on Saturday, September 28 at 2:30pm.

Location: Northlight Theatre is located at the North Shore

Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie

Tickets: Previews: $35-$74

Regular run: $49-$91

Student tickets are $15, any performance (subject to availability)

Box Office: The Box Office is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie. 847.673.6300; northlight.org

**The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is Northlight's second play based on a well-known artist, following 2023's Andy Warhol in Iran, which was a critical and commercial success. Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows we thoroughly enjoyed Andy Warhol in Iran, and gave it a highly recommended rating.** 

2024-2025 Season

The 2024-2025 season will open with the whimsical play with music about the romance of Marc Chagall and his poet wife Bella, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, September 5 – October 6, 2024; followed by a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women by Northlight favorite Lauren Gunderson, November 29 – December 29, 2024; Lloyd Suh’s funny and moving play The Heart Sellers about the Asian immigrant experience in the 1970s, January 23 – February 23, 2025; and Joshua Harmon’s celebrated play Prayer for the French Republic, directed by Jeremy Wechsler in a co-production with Theater Wit, April 10 – May 11, 2025. The season closes with the mesmerizing one-man show about Donny Hathaway, Twisted Melodies, written and performed by Kelvin Roston Jr, July 10-August 10, 2025.

Subscriptions range in price from $135-290. Flex pass options are $120-$210. With its wide range of ticket prices, discounted subscription packages and complimentary parking, Northlight remains one of the best theatrical values in Chicagoland. Package options include traditional 5-Play Packages, 4-Play Packages, and Flex Packages. Subscriptions are available at northlight.org/subscribe or 847.673.6300.

Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.

Founded in 1974, the organization has mounted over 240 productions, including more than 45 world premieres. Northlight has earned 230 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 36 Awards, as well as 11 Edgerton Foundation for New Play Awards. As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.

Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions BMO Harris Bank; Bulley & Andrews; Byline Bank; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Dr. Scholl Foundation; Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, Inc.; The Field Foundation of Illinois; Full Circle Foundation; Grumman Butkus Associates; Hagerty Consulting; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; John R Halligan Charitable Fund; LionBird; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Mabadi Realty; Mammel Family Foundation; Modestus Bauer Foundation; Northwestern University; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Pritzker Foundation; The Schubert Foundation, Inc.; The Sullivan Family Foundation; The Weatherlow Foundation; Tom Stringer Design Partners.

The 15th Annual Living Newspaper Festival Via Jackalope Theatre Company September 13 - 16, 2024

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JACKALOPE THEATRE COMPANY ANNOUNCES ITS RETURN 

TO THE BROADWAY ARMORY WITH 

THE 15th ANNUAL LIVING NEWSPAPER FESTIVAL

SEPTEMBER 13 - 16

 The 2024 Festival Includes Five World Premiere One-Act Plays Inspired by Recent News Headlines.

Jackalope Theatre Company is proud to announce its return to Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N. Broadway, with the 15th Annual Living Newspaper Festival, September 13 - 16. The Living Newspaper Festival is inspired by the 1930s Living Newspapers of the Federal Theatre Project that created stories based on recent events. This year’s Festival includes five one-act plays inspired from recent news headlines. The running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. The performance schedule is Friday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $30 and are available at www.jackalopetheatre.org or by calling 773-340-2543.

Artistic Director Kaiser Ahmed remarks that "our 15th Living Newspaper Festival is a milestone and testament to the incisive and illuminating power of immediate theatre. In an era where misleading or false news proliferates, Jackalope is committed to engaging directly with audiences to examine current events. We've honed in on the stories, truths, and communities behind each of these five plays. With this lineup of nationally acclaimed playwrights, you won't want to miss this one-weekend-only theatrical event."

The 15th Annual Living Newspaper Festival includes

OUT OF THIS WORLD

by Rammel Chan

directed by Wendy Mateo

While bidding farewell to the Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band, an uncle and his niece struggle to say goodbye to the joys of youth, the stability of the past and each other.

Inspired by "Farewell, Chuck E. Cheese Animatronic Band” - The New York Times, May 11, 2024

THE BEST OF US

by Ike Holter

directed by Gus Menary*

A modern couple gets together to talk shit about their legion of haters.

Inspired by "America’s premier pronatalists on having ‘tons of kids’ to save the world: ‘There are going to be countries of old people starving to death” - The Guardian, May 25, 2024

THE DEPTHS

by Paloma Nozicka*

directed by Gus Menary*

Nearing the anniversary of a mysterious disaster, a billionaire CEO seeks help from a therapist for a recurring nightmare.

Inspired by "Frightening Log From Titan Submersible’s Fatal Dive Declared a Fake” - The New York Times, June 10, 2024



A DROP IN THE BUCKET

by Ireon Roach

directed by Sydney Charles

A play in not e’en ha’f a act in which Sumwea, Sumha, sum Browk comes together through a dive into the psyche of sacred sweat while a baby searches for healing in Grandfather’s breath.

Inspired by "A tribe in Maine is using opioid settlement funds on a sweat lodge to treat addiction” - NPR News, May 12, 2024

INTO THE BREECH

by Madhuri Shekar

directed by Wendy Mateo

Two friends attempt a DIY c-section with the help of a surgical kit purchased from CVS and an AI virtual doula.

Inspired by "Frightening Log From Titan Submersible’s Fatal Dive Declared a Fake” - The New York Times, May 11, 2024

The production team for the 15th Annual Living Newspaper Festival includes: Ryan Emens* (scenic designer), Claire Sangster* (lighting designer), Michael Huey (sound designer), Tony Santiago (video designer), Ike Holter (producer), Paloma Nozicka* (casting associate), Karina Patel* (dramaturg), Amal Salem (stage manager), Hudson Therriault* (accessibility coordinator), Jon Cohen* (article curator).

* denotes Jackalope Theatre Company member

ABOUT THE LIVING NEWSPAPER FESTIVAL

With a history in the USSR and Germany in the early part of the century, the Living Newspaper was initiated in the United States in 1935 as part of the Federal Theatre Project. Its founders believed in the value of drama as an instrument of social change and the Living Newspapers became a highly effective new form, boldly producing plays that often brought to light social injustices, challenged ideals, and criticized the government.

In response to the Great Depression, Congress appropriated $4.8 billion for work relief and created agencies to administer the funds, including the Works Progress Administration. Despite being allocated less than one percent of WPA funding, the Federal Theatre Project employed approximately eight thousand Theatre professionals a year during its four-year run.

In an attempt to create new plays, the Federal Theatre Project often recruited new writers. One of the goals of the short-lived FTP was to create plays and provide training for aspiring writers, and the Living Newspapers fostered this on a grand scale. Even though insiders acknowledged that it is much easier to build a dam or teach a trade than it is to develop a playwright, the legacy of the FTP laid the groundwork for using theatre to invoke conversation on national themes.

ABOUT JACKALOPE THEATRE

Jackalope Theatre Company expands the definition of American Identity by engaging with communities to produce works that celebrate diverse perspectives. Jackalope is a premier home for new and exciting Off-Loop Theatre based in Chicago's Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods. They are committed to cultivating new voices that contribute to an expanding American culture and mythology. Each season, Jackalope produces full-length plays, new play development programming and provides free classes in partnership with the Chicago Park District.

(Top row,  L to R) Madhuri Shekar, Ireon Roach, Paloma Nozicka, 

(Second row, L to R) Ike Holter and Rammel Chan

Full Casting Announced for Steppenwolf Theatre's World Premiere of LEROY AND LUCY October 24 – December 15, 2024

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Full Casting Announced for

Steppenwolf Theatre's World Premiere of 

LEROY AND LUCY

By Ngozi Anyanwu

Directed by Awoye Timpo

Featuring ensemble member Jon Michael Hill with Brittany Bradford

October 24 – December 15, 2024

in Steppenwolf’s in-the-round Ensemble Theater 

The cast of Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere of "Leroy and Lucy" includes (l to r) ensemble member Jon Michael Hill with Brittany Bradford.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation’s premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to present the second production of its 49th season: Ngozi Anyanwu’s world premiere of Leroy and Lucy, a bluesy and seductive play with music, directed by Awoye Timpo, playing October 24 – December 15, 2024 in Steppenwolf’s in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Classic Memberships are on sale for Steppenwolf’s 2024/25 season at steppenwolf.org/myseason through September 30, 2024. Single tickets for Leroy and Lucy starting at $20 are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. 

Tony Award-nominated ensemble member Jon Michael Hill (Elementary, Pass Over) returns following his critically acclaimed performance in Steppenwolf’s world premiere of Purpose, joined by Obie Award-winning stage actor Brittany Bradford, also known for her TV roles in Julia, The Watcher and Dead Ringers.

Two lost souls meet at a crossroads, in the dead of night, deep in the Mississippi of it all. With a yearning guitar between them, they tell secrets and conjure a sound once forgotten – a tune pitched with Leroy’s longing and the sweet purr of Lucy’s desires. In this sultry world premiere, the Delta Blues fill the air, the future lies just down the road and we are everywhere and nowhere all at once. 

The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (Scenic Design), Yvonne Miranda (Costume Design), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Design), Connor Wang (Sound Design), Jeremy Jones (Music Director & Composer), Adesola Osakalumi (Choreographer & Cultural Consultant), Arminda Thomas (Dramaturg), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Michelle Medvin (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager). For full cast and creative team bios, click here.

Production Details:

Location: Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, 1646 N. Halsted St., Chicago

Dates: Previews: Thursday, October 24 – Saturday, November 2, 2024

Regular run: Tuesday, November 5 – Sunday, December 15, 2024

Curtain Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 3 pm & 7:30 pm; and Sundays at 3 pm. Please note: there will not 7:30 pm performances on Tuesday, October 29, Wednesday, November 6, Tuesday, November 12, Wednesday, November 13, Thursday, November 14, Tuesday, November 19, Wednesday, November 20, Thursday, November 21, Thursday, November 28 and Tuesday, December 10; there will be an added 2 pm matinee on Wednesday, November 27.

Tickets: Classic Memberships are on sale for Steppenwolf’s 2024/25 season at steppenwolf.org/myseason through September 30, 2024. Single tickets for Leroy and Lucy ($20 - $92) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. Steppenwolf Flex Memberships are also currently on sale: Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production and RED Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30.

Education and Engagement:

Throughout the 2024/25 season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to the next generation of theatre learners, makers and appreciators with robust education and engagement programming. Programming includes dedicated student matinee performances during four of the five Membership Series productions including Noises Off, Leroy and Lucy, Fool for Love and The Book of Grace, in-school residencies in partnership with Chicago Public schools, workshops, panels and events specifically geared towards teens, as well as professional development trainings and resources for educators. Additionally, Steppenwolf is reimagining their community engagement and will pilot new public programming, continue accessibility programming and offer opportunities for deeper explorations for audiences throughout the season. For additional information about Steppenwolf’s Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip visit steppenwolf.org/education.

Accessible Performance Dates:

Audio-described and touch tour: Sunday, November 24 at 3 pm (1:30 pm Touch Tour)

Open-captioned: Saturday, November 23 at 3 pm & Thursday, December 5 at 7:30 pm

ASL-interpreted: public performance: Friday, December 6 at 7:30 pm

Artist Biographies:

Brittany Bradford (Lucy) Broadway: Bernhardt/Hamlet. Off-Broadway: The Comeuppance (Obie Award, Signature Theater), Wedding Band (Obie Award, TFANA), Fefu and Her Friends (TFANA), Mac Beth (Hunter Theatre Project), Merrily We Roll Along (Roundabout/Fiasco Theater), TV: Julia (HBO Max), The Watcher (Netflix), The Gilded Age (HBO Max), Dead Ringers (Amazon), Fire Country (CBS), Fear the Walking Dead (AMC), New Amsterdam (NBC). Film: The Same Storm (dir. Peter Hedges). Classix member and HomeBase Theater Collective co-founder. Training: Juilliard.

Jon Michael Hill (Leroy) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2007. Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Purpose, True West, Pass Over, Constellations, Head of Passes, The Hot L Baltimore, The Tempest, Kafka on the Shore, The Unmentionables. Broadway: Superior Donuts, Pass Over. Off-Broadway: The Refuge Plays (New York Theatre Workshop) Pass Over (Lincoln Center). Film: Pass Over, Widows, In the Radiant City, No Pay, Nudity. Television: Upcoming: A Man in Full (Netflix), Elementary (CBS), Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC), Eastbound & Down (HBO), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) and Person of Interest (CBS).

Ngozi Anyanwu (Playwright) is a playwright, storyteller, and most recently a 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award winner. Her newest play, Last of the Love Letters, premiered at the Atlantic theater fall 2021. Previous productions include Good Grief (Vineyard Theatre in NYC / Center Theatre Group in LA) and The Homecoming Queen (sold-out world premiere run at the Atlantic Theatre). Good Grief was on the Kilroys List 2016 and a semi finalist for the Princess Grace Award, and won the Humanitas Award. The Homecoming Queen was on the Kilroys List 2017 and was a Leah Ryan Finalist. Her play Nike… (Kilroys List 2017) was workshopped at The New Black Fest in conjunction with The Lark and The Strand Festival in conjunction with A.C.T and Space on Ryder Farm. Ngozi also has commissions with NYU, The Old Globe, Two Rivers Theatre, The Atlantic Theatre and Steppenwolf. Anyanwu has also received residencies from LCT3, Space on Ryder Farm, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, The New Harmony Project, New York Stage and Film and Page 73. She attended Point Park University (BA) and received her MFA in Acting from University of California, San Diego.

Awoye Timpo (Director) is a Brooklyn-based director and producer. Her recent New York credits include Elyria by Deepa Purohit (Atlantic Theater), Wedding Band by Alice Childress (Theatre for a New Audience), In Old Age by Mfoniso Udofia (New York Theatre Workshop), The Loophole by Jay Adana and Zeniba Britt (Public Theater), Carnaval by Nikkole Salter (National Black Theatre), Good Grief by Ngozi Anyanwu (Vineyard Theatre and Audible) and The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu (Atlantic Theater Company). Regionally she has directed The Bluest Eye (Huntington), Pipeline (Studio Theatre), Paradise Blue (Long Wharf), Everybody Black (Actors Theatre of Louisville), School Girls (Berkeley Rep), Jazz (Marin Theatre Company). Other projects include concert performances for independent artists as well as for the NBA, Ndebele Funeral (59E59, Edinburgh, South African Tour), “Black Picture Show” (Artists Space/Metrograph) and Bluebird Memories (Audible). Awoye is a Creative Arts Consultant for the African American Policy Forum and the Founding Producer of CLASSIX, theclassix.org.

Accessibility

As a commitment to make the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each STC production (see dates above). Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access or e-mail access@steppenwolf.org.

Sponsor Information

Leroy and Lucy is supported in part by Conagra Brands Foundation. United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Good Chaos, Joyce Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Ron and Paula Mallicoat, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Robert Rivkin and Cindy Moelis, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, ArentFox Schiff, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Conagra Brands Foundation, Steven and Nancy Crown, CRC Group, Rich and Margery Feitler, Julius Frankel Foundation, FROST CHICAGO, Goldman Sachs, Shmaila Tahir and Asheesh Goel, Bob and Amy Greenebaum, Kirkland & Ellis, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Christopher and Eileen Murphy, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker, Sacks Family Foundation, Smart Family Foundation of Illinois, Gary Sinise Foundation, Elliot A. Stultz, and Vinci Restaurant. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.  

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premiere Ensemble Theater with 49 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions — from Balm in Gilead and Grapes of Wrath to August: Osage County, Downstate and The Brother/Sister Plays — have made this theatre legendary. Founded in 1976, Steppenwolf started as a group of teens performing in the basement of a church. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 12 Tony Awards, and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair, Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the landscape of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf’s Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Reminiscent Circus' Way Home July 19-21 Only at Aloft Circus Arts

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

Check Out Some Short Run Circus Fun 

From Chicago's Newest Contemporary Circus Company

"Maybe home is something we are always making, building, collectively dreaming into being" 

- Raven See

Way Home runs 90 minutes with an intermission and is family friendly. 

WAY HOME is a full-length work of contemporary narrative circus presented by Reminiscent Circus, written/directed/produced by Kristi Alyssa, and co-produced by Aloft Circus Arts. It premieres July 19-21 at Aloft Circus Arts, 3324 W. Wrightwood in Chicago. Tickets on sale now.

Reminiscent Circus is a new company dedicated to the professional and ethical treatment of performers, and to active mentorship of aspiring professionals and circus students. Led by Kristi Alyssa,  director of youth programming and manger of the professional training program at Aloft Circus Arts, Reminiscent Circus is a showcase for both experienced professionals and emerging artists of all ages, with a focus on LGBTQ visibility and the creation of circus stories in which others may see themselves reflected.

For more see @reminiscentcircus on Instagram, or reminiscentcircus.com. 

Check Out The VIDEO TRAILER HERE

Cast and Crew of Way Home:

Director/Writer/Producer/Lighting and Sound Design: Kristi Alyssa

Assistant Director: Chloe Zabicki

Dance Choreographer: Luke Greeff

Stage Manager: Martha Bayne

Backstage Manager: Laila Ruangpan

Poet: Raven See

Set Design: James Taff

Performers: Kristi Alyssa, Daisy Coleman, Taylor Fost, Luke Greef, Nick Grischow, Noa Kim-Cohen, Benjy Radinski, Valeria Rosero, Laila Ruangpan, Courtney Sendzimmer, Camille Swift, Eleana Suazo, Lyla Taraska, and Chloe Zabicki

About co-producer Aloft Circus Arts:

Located in a church built in 1908 in Chicago's beautiful Logan Square Neighborhood, Aloft features 6000 square feet of studio space, making it the third largest circus training space in America. Founded in 2005 by Shayna Swanson, Aloft’s unique vision embodies the innovation of the new circus movement, the daring of the traditional big top shows, and the joy and comedy of vaudeville. We look to have a direct emotional dialogue with our audience, and due to our accessible nature, everyone regardless of education, age, culture, or background can be engaged.

Steppenwolf Theatre Presents RACHEL BLOOM: DEATH, LET ME DO MY SHOW August 14 - 24, 2024

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

From the Co-Creator and Star of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”…

Steppenwolf Theatre Presents the One-Woman Musical Comedy  

RACHEL BLOOM:

DEATH, LET ME DO MY SHOW

August 14 - 24, 2024 in the Downstairs Theater

Rachel Bloom performs "Death, Let Me Do My Show." Photo by Emilio Madrid

"With signature panache and zero regard for propriety, Bloom ties her shambolic musings into one neat, colorful, hilarious bow." — New York Stage Review

Steppenwolf Theatre is pleased to present Rachel Bloom’s sell-out off-Broadway hit Death, Let Me Do My Show, playing a limited engagement August 14 - 24, 2024 in the Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets are now on sale at steppenwolf.org/RachelBloom or by calling the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

From the co-creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend comes a one-woman musical comedy that is definitely NOT about the ever-present specter of death. Directed by Seth Barrish, Bloom’s new show is filled with raunchy and escapist material that will in NO way explore the pandemic and all the tumultuous events that ensued in her personal life. NOTHING will stop Rachel from partying like it’s 2019!

Production Details:

Dates: Wednesday, August 14 - Saturday, August 24, 2024

Performance schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 3 pm & 7:30 pm; and Sunday at 3 pm.

Tickets: $59 - $119. Tickets are now on sale at steppenwolf.org/RachelBloom or by calling the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

"Rachel Bloom Shines! The songs are the highlights here. Bloom is especially good at puncturing emotion with surreal detail.” — New York Times

About Rachel Bloom

Rachel Bloom is an actress, comedian, producer, singer/songwriter and author.

Bloom is perhaps best known from the CW musical dramedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which she co-created, executive produced, and starred in as ‘Rebecca Bunch.’ Bloom won the 2016 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series – Musical or Comedy, Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actress in a TV Comedy and TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy. In 2019, she won an Emmy Award for Original Music and Lyrics along with her songwriting partners Adam Schlesinger and Jack Dolgen for “Antidepressants Are So Not A Big Deal.” The series was also awarded a Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Series.

Most recently, Bloom performed her own one-woman musical comedy, Death, Let Me Do My Show to sold-out audiences off Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and the Orpheum Theatre. The show originally toured as a comedy special in spring/summer 2023 to theatres in London, Chicago and Boston, among other cities. She will be performing an encore engagement of the show at the Williamstown Theatre Festival this summer. Rachel, alongside her collaborators Eli Bolin and Jack Dolgen, is nominated for the 2024 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.

Recently, Bloom can be seen in the guest starring role of ‘Elaine Levitch’ in season two of the Max series, Julia, which premiered on November 16, 2023. She also co-starred as up-and-coming indie film screenwriter ‘Hannah Korman’ in the Hulu comedy series Reboot alongside Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, Johnny Knoxville, Paul Reiser, Calum Worthy and Krista Marie Yu. The series, which first premiered in September 2022, was created by Steven Levitan, and was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy Series, and Bloom was nominated for a 2023 HCA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Comedy Series.

In February 2023, Bloom appeared as ‘Scarlet’ in the Netflix original film Your Place or Mine, alongside Reese Witherspoon, Ashton Kutcher and Jessie Williams. In October 2022, Bloom appeared as ‘Honora’ in Paul Feig and Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil and in November 2022, she starred as ‘Chelsea’ in Bar Fight alongside Melissa Fumero for IFC.

In 2019, Bloom sold out Radio City Music Hall performing Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Live as well as at The London Palladium, the latter of which earned her a five-star review from The Guardian. She also wrote and performed in Yes: It’s Really Us Singing: The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Concert, which aired after the series finale on the CW. She also starred in her own solo tour, “What Am I Going To Do With My Life Now?” in 2019, which included a week-long residency at Just For Laughs.

Her feature voiceover credits include the role of ‘Barb’ in Trolls 2: World Tour opposite Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, ‘Silver’ in The Angry Birds Movie 2 opposite Jason Sudeikis, ‘Batgirl’ in Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opposite Darren Criss, ‘Op’ in Extinct opposite Adam Devine and Ken Jeong, and in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Bloom can also be seen in the SXSW comedy, Most Likely To Murder. Additional television guest credits include Portlandia, Ridley Jones, Close Enough, The Simpsons, Bojack Horseman, RuPaul’s Drag Race and iCarly.

Rachel is a mental health activist. In addition to her film and television work, in 2020, she published her book “I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are,” a collection of personal essays and poems on the subjects of insecurity, fame, anxiety, and much more.

“Sprightly and enjoyable! Bloom and her director are more than up to the task of finding the funny in the bleakest moments.” — Vulture 

Accessibility

Steppenwolf is committed to making the theatergoing experience accessible to everyone. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access. If you have questions or would like to make a specific request, email access@steppenwolf.org or call our box office at 312-335-1650.

Sponsor Information

United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Good Chaos, Joyce Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Ron and Paula Mallicoat, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Robert Rivkin and Cindy Moelis, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, ArentFox Schiff, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Steven and Nancy Crown,  CRC Group, Rich and Margery Feitler, Julius Frankel Foundation, FROST CHICAGO, Goldman Sachs, Shmaila Tahir and Asheesh Goel, Bob and Amy Greenebaum, Kirkland & Ellis, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Christopher and Eileen Murphy, The Orlebeke Foundation, PNC, Polk Bros. Foundation, Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker, Sacks Family Foundation, Smart Family Foundation of Illinois, Gary Sinise Foundation, Elliot A. Stultz, and Vinci Restaurant. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. This project is partially supported by a CityArts 

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premiere Ensemble Theater with 49 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions — from Balm in Gilead and Grapes of Wrath to August: Osage County, Downstate and The Brother/Sister Plays — have made this theatre legendary. Founded in 1976, Steppenwolf started as a group of teens performing in the basement of a church. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 12 Tony Awards, and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair, Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the landscape of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf’s Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. 

steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Rachel Bloom performs "Death, Let Me Do My Show." Photo by Emilio Madrid.