Maggie Andersen with special guests will present No Stars in Jefferson Park An Evening of Storytelling and Celebration, a celebratory launch of Andersen’s new memoir No Stars in Jefferson Park. The evening of storytelling and creative church, featuring the author and local theater artists featured in the book, will be held Tuesday, October 28 at 8 pm at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1700 N. Halsted St. A book signing will follow the presentation.
No Stars in Jefferson Park An Evening of Storytelling and Celebration is part of Steppenowolf’s 50th anniversary season’s LookOut Festival at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater, an intimate and flexible venue nestled behind Front Bar, 1700 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets are $23 (including a $3 fee) are now on sale at www.steppenwolf.org/lookout, (312) 335-1650.
In her early twenties, Maggie Andersen was a founding member of Chicago’s storied Gift Theatre. Twenty-five years later, the Gift is still producing on the northwest side of Chicago and has become one of the most vital storefronts in the city. No Stars in Jefferson Park is a testament to lifelong friendship, a love letter to Chicago, and a profound coming-of-age story about the pain and necessity of putting yourself first.
About No Stars in Jefferson Park: A Memoir
(Northwestern University Press • Publication Date: October 15, 2025, ISBN: 978-0-8101-4951-9)
“We are in Chicago, but not the Chicago you’re thinking of.” Maggie and Mike are fresh out of college, wildly in love, and enamored with the idea of a future on the stage. Committed to making theater in and for the working-class neighborhoods that raised them, they establish the Gift, now a celebrated pillar of Chicago’s performance scene, among the Polish delis and dives of Jefferson Park.
The company flourishes. Their relationship stumbles. The young artists compete for air, and Mike is on his way to becoming Michael Patrick Thornton, whose career will take him from Hollywood to Broadway. But Maggie has to put that aside when, on one of the most exuberant days of the year in Chicago—St. Patrick’s Day—Mike has a stroke and is left paralyzed. The young couple is plunged into a new world, first of beeping monitors and breathing tubes, then of the slow, uncertain road to recovery. At just twenty-five, Maggie is cast in a role that so many women quietly play: the caretaker.
Maggie’s memoir weaves between these two narratives: fighting for theater in working-class Chicago, and the day-to-day realities of rehabilitation. And somewhere in between, she arcs toward the heart wrenching decision to leave Mike, her growing company, and her beloved city.
Oct 28No Stars in Jefferson Park is the story of the great loves, friendships, and heartbreaks behind the art we admire. It’s a testament that to make art, you don’t have to leave your neighborhood—but to find yourself, you sometimes do.
Maggie Andersen is a founding ensemble member of the Gift Theatre. Her work has appeared in DIAGRAM, The Los Angeles Review, and Salt Hill, among others. Andersen has also worked on stages and microphones across Chicago, where she lives with her husband and son.
Notes of Interest:
- The book is dedicated to Maggie’s grandmother, who was one of the earliest subscribers to Steppenwolf. Before she entered high school, Maggie was gifted a Steppenwolf subscription by her grandmother, giving this presentation special meaning to the author.
- After leaving her acting career, Maggie studied abroad at the Prague Summer Program and went on to grad school in Michigan to study with her favorite writer, Stuart Dybek, who became a close mentor and friend.
- Maggie and Michael Patrick Thornton met each other in high-school theater and started the Gift Theatre together just out of college, and it's still going strong. Mike and Maggie wanted a permanent home for The Gift in Jefferson Park because of their shared Chicago working-class roots, including Catholic upbringings, and fathers who were Chicago cops.
- Michael Patrick Thornton is currently performing on Broadway with Keanu Reeves in Waiting for Godot and has a featured role in the upcoming Apple biopic about disability activist Judy Heumann. Maggie helped Mike to recover and rehabilitate at the Rehab Institute of Chicago, which features prominently in the book.
- Sheldon Patinkin directed the Gift's first play at the University of Chicago. He features prominently in the book. The playwrights David Rabe, Netta Walker and Will Eno became ensemble members in recent years. The full Gift ensemble is listed here.
- Northwestern University Press (Maggie's publisher) has published an impressive roster of "theater books" including Sheldon's history of The Second City and Richard Christiansen's memoir. The editor of No Stars is Megan Stielstra, who is an essayist and a founding member of 2nd Story.
- The memoir is a love letter to Chicago theaters and theater artists, and a reminder of why the arts are essential. In addition to The Gift, local theaters featured in the book include Northlight Theatre, Raven Theatre, Redmoon Theater and The Second City.