Steppenwolf Theatre Company, under the leadership of Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis and Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan, today announced its 50th Anniversary Season, celebrating five decades of bold, visceral and muscular work that has made the Chicago theater legendary. Ensemble members from across generations are coming back to their home on Halsted to celebrate the last fifty years and secure the launch of the next fifty. The 50th Season features five Steppenwolf Membership Series productions: a world premiere, two Chicago premieres and two modern masterpieces – all emblematic of Steppenwolf’s indelible impression on the American Theatre. Steppenwolf also doubles down on its decades-long mission to immerse Chicago’s youth in the arts through its lauded educational initiatives – and provide much-needed artistic space for the city’s bustling community of multi-disciplinary artists, along with itinerant theatre companies.
Founded in the mid-1970s by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry and Terry Kinney in the basement of a suburban church, the ensemble has expanded to 49 celebrated artists – among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the industry. Productions launched from the theatre – from The Grapes of Wrath and August: Osage County – to Pass Over and Purpose – have earned the company accolades including the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards. More than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally and more than 130 world premieres have left an indelible mark on the American Theatre.
Steppenwolf Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis comment, “The cornerstone of Steppenwolf is its ensemble – generations of bold, irreverent, unapologetic artists who traffic in courage and relentless authenticity. Every play we programmed this season deals with generational tension, collision and the fight to belong. They explore what happens when your version of home changes, when life doesn’t turn out the way it was supposed to and what it means to be radically accepted… or not. Every story ruthlessly interrogates generations of family, the joy and pain that change brings and the ongoing struggle to maintain one’s identity, value and worth within their tribe.”
Davis and Francis add, “Our 50th season challenges our ensemble members in ways we don’t always get to be challenged. And while we've never shied away from challenge, we still feel a fresh rush of adrenaline when we take risks that come with no guarantees. So, the best way for us to honor Steppenwolf, and the artists who call this place home, is to create with courage and bring all of ourselves to the work – just like we have for the last fifty years and will for the next fifty.”
Raising the curtain on Steppenwolf’s 50th Season, ensemble member K. Todd Freeman returns to his creative home to direct the Chicago premiere of ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's unflinching family drama Mr. Wolf, featuring ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith and Caroline Neff. The 2025/26 Season continues with Peter Shaffer’s Oscar and Tony Award-winning masterpiece Amadeus, directed by Tony Award-winning ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro and stacked with an ensemble cast including Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy and Yasen Peyankov. Up next, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog returns to the Steppenwolf stage more than two decades after the company’s celebrated 2003 production. Helmed by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood go head-to-head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride. In the spring of 2026, Steppenwolf continues its tradition of bringing new works to the American theatre canon with the world premiere of Windfall by Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney. Directed by Awoye Timpo, this highly-anticipated collaboration features ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis and Jon Michael Hill. The 50th season concludes with Mia Chung’s wildly inventive Chicago premiere of Catch as Catch Can, directed by celebrated ensemble member Amy Morton. The all-ensemble cast includes Gary Cole, Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper.
The 2025/26 Season is presented at Steppenwolf’s expanded campus, which includes three theaters: the Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, the Downstairs Theater and the intimate 1700 Theater.
Steppenwolf Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan comments, “As we prepare to celebrate a half century of Steppenwolf’s provocative contributions to the American Theatre, our work has been simultaneously activating stages in Chicago with Fool for Love, Los Angeles with our co-production of Noises Off at the Geffen Playhouse and New York with the highly-anticipated Broadway premiere of Purpose. As a cultural citizen for Chicago, this is an extraordinary accomplishment. It is also a reminder of the important role that audiences and donors play in the collective stewardship for our world-class theater.
Flanagan adds, “Five generations of support for the theater has culminated in Steppenwolf at 50. Steppenwolf at 50 is a celebration of our 49 ensemble members and their prolific body of work. Steppenwolf at 50 is a bustling artistic home with three stages brimming with creativity and robust teen-centered programs. Steppenwolf at 50 is a creative incubator for the reimagination of extant work and creation of new plays by artists of our time. Steppenwolf at 50 is a steward for the broader cultural landscape through the presentation of artists across disciplines. We invite audiences to join us for this extraordinary collection of plays and are grateful for the investment of time and treasure from our Board and donors that fuels our mission.”
2025/26 Classic Memberships are now on sale starting as low as $160 and include all five Membership Series productions – three plays in the Downstairs Theater and two in the Ensemble Theater. Classic Members receive priority access to seats along with full membership benefits, including unlimited ticket exchanges. The Black Card, Steppenwolf’s flex membership, offers six ticket credits starting as low as $120 that allow patrons flexibility for when and how they see shows at Steppenwolf. For patrons under 30, RED Card Memberships offer six ticket credits for just $99. Discounted packages for students and teachers and accessible packages are also available. For more information and to purchase Memberships, visit Audience Services at steppenwolf.org or call (312) 335-1650.
Throughout the 2025/26 Season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to education and the next generation of audiences with dedicated student matinee performances during four of the five Membership Series productions (Mr. Wolf, Amadeus, Topdog/Underdog and Windfall). Reaching nearly 15,000 teens, educators and community members annually, Steppenwolf Education and Engagement also includes in-school residencies, teen programs, community partnerships, educator trainings for classroom teachers and teaching artists, and a brand-new series of on-site workshops in art-making and theater production. For additional information about Steppenwolf’s Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip visit steppenwolf.org/education.
Additionally, Steppenwolf’s 50th Season reaffirms the theater’s decades-long commitment to spotlighting the work of Chicago’s vibrant artistic communities. The LookOut Series in the 1700 Theater will continue to host the work of performing artists across the disciplines of dance, drag, music, storytelling, comedy, puppetry and more. Since its inception, this wildly eclectic series has hosted the work of more than 3,000 artists across nearly 1,000 performances – and it’s still going strong. The LookOut Series is ongoing, with full programming at steppenwolf.org/lookout.
Further, Steppenwolf and Teatro Vista Productions are proud to announce an exciting multi-year partnership in which the organizations – two of Chicago’s most vital ensemble theaters – will work together to bring ambitious productions to Chicago audiences. In the coming season and beyond, Teatro Vista Productions will produce a full-length run of a play in the 1700 Theater, colliding the artistic ambitions of both companies and providing an opportunity for Teatro Vista Productions to build further institutional capacity after the past several seasons of record-breaking artistic success. Details of the first production in this collaboration to be announced at a later date.
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY’S 50th ANNIVERSARY SEASON
Mr. Wolf (left to right) Playwright/ensemble member Rajiv Joseph, director/ensemble member K. Todd Freeman and ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith and Caroline Neff.
Mr. Wolf – Chicago Premiere!
Written by ensemble member Rajiv Joseph
Directed by ensemble member K. Todd Freeman
Featuring ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith and Caroline Neff
September 11 – November 2, 2025
In the Downstairs Theater
Press opening: Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 6 pm
14 years ago, the infant Theresa was stolen from her parents. Now, the precocious 15-year-old has been rescued, and quickly returned to a family that had nearly forsaken hope – a family she neither recognizes nor understands. In ensemble member Rajiv Joseph’s unflinching play, a miraculous reunion sets the stage for provocative conversations: what makes a house a home? What nightmares are we willing to face for the sake of our children? And ultimately, what part do we play in the grand saga of human existence?
Amadeus (top, l to r) Playwright Peter Shaffer, director/ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro and ensemble members Ian Barford and Robert Breuler with (bottom, l to r) ensemble members K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy and Yasen Peyankov.
Amadeus
Written by Peter Shaffer
Directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro
Featuring ensemble members Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy and Yasen Peyankov
November 6, 2025 – January 4, 2026
In the Ensemble Theater
Press opening: Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 6 pm
Vienna: a cacophony of music and intrigue. The emperor's composer, Antonio Salieri, holds court until the flamboyant entrance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: prodigy and wild child. The two artists begin a vicious and thrilling duet, a rivalry that will define their lives and legacies for years to come. Winner of 5 Tonys and 8 Academy Awards, Amadeus is the ultimate ode to ambition and musical genius, a brilliant requiem for a villain in history – but a hero in his own story. Vi saluto!
Topdog/Underdog (left to right) Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, director Kenny Leon and ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood.
Topdog/Underdog
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Kenny Leon
Featuring ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood
January 29 – March 22, 2026
In the Downstairs Theater
Press opening: Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Brothers Lincoln and Booth, named in jest, are two Black men living in America just trying to get by. Lincoln dresses like his namesake, reenacting his assassination for money and laughs. Booth stays stuck in their apartment, working tirelessly on his Three-Card hustle. Sibling rivalry and a lifetime of resentment come to a head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride from Suzan-Lori Parks. The deck is stacked with a Pulitzer Prize-winning script and an unforgettable showdown for ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood. “Take thuh cards and show me whatcha got!”
Windfall (left to right) Playwright/ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney, director Awoye Timpo and ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis and Jon Michael Hill.
Windfall – World Premiere!
Written by ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Awoye Timpo
Featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis and Jon Michael Hill
April 9 – May 31, 2026
In the Ensemble Theater
Press opening: Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 6 pm
This is a story about money. Don’t let them fool you otherwise. When Mac loses his child in a clash with the local police, he is visited by three strangers who advise him to take the city's cash settlement, relocate and forget his grief – or else stay and remain impoverished surrounded by memories of the world his child fought so hard to protect. This world premiere from Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney explores how grief, justice, sexuality, gender, history and even pride become secondary concerns in the wake of currency.
Catch as Catch Can (left to right) Playwright Mia Chung, director/ensemble member Amy Morton and ensemble members Gary Cole, Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper.
Catch as Catch Can – Chicago Premiere!
Written by Mia Chung
Directed by ensemble member Amy Morton
Featuring ensemble members Gary Cole, Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper
June 4 – July 12, 2026
In the Downstairs Theater
Press opening: Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 6 pm
When a prodigal son returns to blue collar New England, his homecoming sets off a spiraling crisis for two families, threatening not only their relationships but their very identities. In Mia Chung’s wildly inventive Catch as Catch Can, three actors take on six roles, bridging generation and gender, in a theatrical tour-de-force that upends the kitchen sink drama and asks what happens when we refuse to play the roles we’re prescribed. Spanning hilarity, stunning virtuosity and outright horror, this ferocious Chicago premiere – featuring an all-ensemble cast – must be witnessed to be believed
50th ANNIVERSARY SEASON ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Mr. Wolf
Rajiv Joseph (Playwright) has been a Steppenwolf Ensemble member since 2018. His play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama and he has twice won the Obie Award for Best New American Play, first in 2016 for Guards at the Taj (also a 2016 Lortel Winner for Best Play) and then, in 2018, for Describe the Night. Other plays include Dakar 2000, King James (Steppenwolf Commission), Letters of Suresh, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The North Pool, The Lake Effect, Archduke and Mr. Wolf. Rajiv is a graduate of Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his MFA from New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa.
K. Todd Freeman (Director) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1993. Steppenwolf (acting): Downstate (Jeff Award), Airline Highway, The Brother/Sister Plays, Topdog/Underdog, A Clockwork Orange, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu. Steppenwolf (directing): The Christians, Good People. Broadway: Airline Highway (Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Award), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Obie, Lucile Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Fetch Clay Make Man (NYTW, Obie Award); Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Spunk (Public Theatre); Regional: Angels in America (Mark Taper Forum). TV: Will Trent, The Horror of Dolores Roach, FBI: Most Wanted, High Maintenance, God Friended Me, Blacklist, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Blindspot, Elementary, The OA, Law and Order: SVU, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue. Film: Bird in Hand, Same Storm, Naked Singularity, Anesthesia, Weightless, The Dark Knight, Cider House Rules, Gross Pointe Blank.
Kate Arrington (Hana) has been a proud member of The Steppenwolf Ensemble since 2007 where some of her favorite plays include The Violet Hour, The Pain and the Itch, Hot L Baltimore, A Parallelogram, Detroit, Belleville and East of Eden. New York: The Iceman Cometh, Grace, Our Mother's Brief Affair, The American Plan, The Wolves, Shakey Jake and Alice, The Qualms, When the Messenger Is Hot, Sexy Saint James and Happy Now? Film and TV: Winning Time, Mare of Easttown, Succession, Ray Donovan, Billions, Eric Larue, Abandoned, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Knives and Skin, East New York, Evil, Madam Secretary, Blacklist, The Good Wife. As a playwright, her play Another Marriage was performed as part of Steppenwolf's 2022/23 season. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and has two perfect daughters, Sylvie and Mae.
Tim Hopper (Mr. Wolf) is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. Recent roles at Steppenwolf include The Old Man in Fool for Love, Caden in The Thanksgiving Play and Andy in Downstate, which traveled to the National Theatre in London, and to Playwrights Horizons in New York. He also appeared at the Goodman Theatre in the title role of Uncle Vanya. Television appearances include Chicago Fire, Emperor of Ocean Park, the Amazon series Utopia, Fargo, The Americans and Empire. Film appearances include Perpetrator; Knives and Skin, School of Rock and To Die For, among others. Off-Broadway: New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre for a New Audience, Vineyard Theatre and the Atlantic Theater. Internationally: the Edinburgh Festival and Antwerp's De Singel Theatre.
James Vincent Meredith (Michael) received critical acclaim as John Proctor in The Crucible, his first role as a Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member. James has appeared at Steppenwolf in 17 productions over the years, most recently in: Noises Off (also Geffen Playhouse). Broadway credits include: The Book of Mormon (Eugene O’Neill-also national tour), The Minutes (Steppenwolf and also Studio 54) Skin of Our Teeth (LCT) and Superior Donuts (Music Box). Other Chicago theatre credits include work at Goodman, Lookingglass, Writers, Victory Gardens, Court and Chicago Shakespeare. Recent TV: Chicago Med (NBC), Your Honor (Showtime) FBI (CBS) and Fargo (FX).
Caroline Neff (Julie) is a Steppenwolf ensemble member. At Steppenwolf, she was last seen in Fool for Love, POTUS, Another Marriage, Describe the Night, Seagull, Dance Nation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, You Got Older, Linda Vista (also Taper Forum and Broadway), The Fundamentals, The Flick, Airline Highway (also Broadway), The Way West, Three Sisters, Annie Bosh is Missing and Where We’re Born. Select theatre credits include: Lettie (Jeff Award Best Actor; Victory Gardens Theater); Uncle Vanya (Goodman Theatre); A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Jeff Award for Best Actress), The Knowledge, Harper Regan, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Steep Theatre); The Downpour (Route 66 Theatre); Port (Griffin Theatre); 4000 Miles (Northlight Theatre); Moonshiner (Jackalope Theatre). Regional credits include: Peerless (Yale Repertory Theatre). Film and television credits include: FBI, Three Women, Let the Right One In, The Red Line, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Open Tables and Older Children, and heard in multiple Audible Projects such as: Song of the Northwoods, Crowded Hours, Denali and Boar's Nest. She is a proud company member of Steep Theatre and holds her BA from Columbia College.
Amadeus
Peter Shaffer (Playwright) Sir Peter Shaffer, in full, Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (1926-2016), was a British playwright of considerable range who moved easily from farce to the portrayal of human anguish. Educated at St. Paul’s and Trinity College, Cambridge, Shaffer first worked for a music publisher and then as a book reviewer. His first play, Five-Finger Exercise (1960), is a tautly constructed domestic drama that almost overnight established his reputation as a playwright. It was followed by The Private Ear, The Public Eye (both 1962), and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964), a portrayal of the conflict between the Spanish and the Inca – “hope and hopelessness, faithlessness and faith.” In 1965, Shaffer’s adroit farce Black Comedy was first performed. Equus (1973; filmed 1977), dealing with a mentally disturbed stableboy’s obsession with horses, and Amadeus (1979; filmed 1984), about the rivalry between Mozart and his fellow composer Antonio Salieri, were successes with both critics and the public. Later plays include the biblical epic Yonadab (1985), Lettice and Lovage (1987) and The Gift of the Gorgon (1992). Shaffer was knighted in 2001 and sadly passed away in 2016.
Anna D. Shapiro (Director) is a Tony Award–winning director and served as Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company from 2015 to 2021, where she remains an ensemble member. She joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in 2005 and was awarded the 2008 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for August: Osage County (Steppenwolf, Broadway, London). She was nominated in 2011 in the same category for The Motherf**ker with the Hat (The Public Theater, LAByrinth Theater Company). Other Steppenwolf directing credits include the world premiere production of The Minutes (also on Broadway), The Unmentionables (also at Yale Repertory Theatre), The Pain and the Itch (also in New York), Purple Heart (also in Galway, Ireland) and This Is Our Youth (which transferred to Broadway). Additional Broadway credits include Of Mice and Men and Fish in the Dark, and off-Broadway Domesticated (Lincoln Center Theater). She directed the premiere of the Broadway musical The Devil Wears Prada with music by Sir Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub and book by Kate Wetherhead. She currently has Eureka Day running at Manhattan Theatre Club. Shapiro is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and Columbia. She is a professor in Northwestern University’s Department of Theatre.
Ian Barford (Antonio Salieri) is a Steppenwolf ensemble member. He is currently performing in Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the Goodman. He first appeared at Steppenwolf in 1988 in A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Rondi Reed. Since then, he has originated 11 roles in plays that premiered at Steppenwolf including the Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning play August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. On Broadway: Linda Vista (Tony nomination and Outer Critics Award for Best Lead Actor in a play), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Tony for Best Play), August: Osage County (also at London's National Theater), The Minutes and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Outer Critics nomination for supporting Actor). Other Chicago credits include: All the Rage and Design for Living at the Goodman. The Little Prince at Lookingglass. In Los Angeles, he appeared at the Geffen Playhouse in: The Weir, God's Man in Texas and Take Me Out – all directed by ensemble member Randall Arney – and in Dead End at the Ahmanson. Favorite Steppenwolf productions include: The Libertine, Three Days of Rain, As I Lay Dying, Berlin Circle, Love Song, Art, The March and Linda Vista.
Robert Breuler (Major-Domo) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1987 and has appeared in over 40 Steppenwolf productions, making him a well-known favorite among Chicago audiences. He won a Joseph Jefferson Award for his acclaimed turn as a Russian negotiator in Steppenwolf's A Walk in the Woods. He was last seen in The Christians, and other memorable Steppenwolf roles include Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Les Moss in The Infidel, Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Father Lux in Our Lady of 121st Street and The Armenian in Time of Your Life. Broadway credits include The Grapes Of Wrath, Carousel, The Song Of Jacob Zulu and Death Of A Salesman. Film credits include The Crucible, A Piece of Eden, Love and Action in Chicago, Shimmer, Trial By Jury, Painted Heart, Miles From Home and Purple Haze. Television credits include Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Prison Break, Early Edition, NYPD Blue, Angel Street, Keeper of the City, Father Clements Story and The Untouchables. Breuler is the recipient of a William and Eva Fox Fellowship and a Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship from the Ten Chimneys Foundation. He directed and performed in the cabaret show Torch, Sass and Swing for Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, written by and starring his wife Suzanne Petri. Bob is a founding member of Perennial Theatre, actors of a certain age, perennialtheatrechicago.com.
K. Todd Freeman (Joseph II) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1993. Steppenwolf (acting): Downstate (Jeff Award), Airline Highway, The Brother/Sister Plays, Topdog/Underdog, A Clockwork Orange, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu. Steppenwolf (directing): The Christians, Good People. Broadway: Airline Highway (Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Award), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Obie, Lucile Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Fetch Clay Make Man (NYTW, Obie Award); Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Spunk (Public Theatre); Regional: Angels in America (Mark Taper Forum). TV: Will Trent, The Horror of Dolores Roach, FBI: Most Wanted, High Maintenance, God Friended Me, Blacklist, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Blindspot, Elementary, The OA, Law and Order: SVU, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue. Film: Bird in Hand, Same Storm, Naked Singularity, Anesthesia, Weightless, The Dark Knight, Cider House Rules, Gross Pointe Blank.
Francis Guinan (Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg) has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble since 1979. He has appeared in more than 30 Steppenwolf productions including Noises Off (also Geffen Playhouse), Downstate, The Rembrandt, The Herd, The Night Alive, Tribes, The Birthday Party, The Book Thief, Time Stands Still, Endgame, American Buffalo, Fake, The Seafarer, Balm in Gilead and August: Osage County. He has also appeared in productions for Northlight Theatre, Goodman Theatre (appearing in Chekhov’s The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard), Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, TimeLine Theatre Company and American Blues Theater. Television appearances include The Exorcist, Boss, Mike & Molly, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Frasier, and several Star Trek episodes. Film work includes roles in The Last Airbender, Typing, Low Tide, Ghostlight and Constantine. For Kate.
Sally Murphy (Venticello 1) has been a Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member since 1993. Steppenwolf: Describe the Night, The Minutes, Linda Vista, Visiting Edna, Time Stands Still, Sex With Strangers, August Osage County, The Crucible, Mother Courage, Uncle Vanya, The Royal Family, Skylight, Earthly Possessions, and The Common Pursuit. Broadway: The Minutes, Linda Vista, August Osage County (also London’s National Theater and Sydney Theatre Company), Fiddler on the Roof, The Wild Party, Carousel (Lincoln Center) and The Grapes of Wrath (also London’s National Theater). Off Broadway: Downstate (Playwrights Horizons), Admissions, A Man of No Importance, Bernarda Alba (all Lincoln Center Theater), The Apple Family Plays (Public Theater, PBS, Zoom and European tour), The Threepenny Opera (Atlantic Theater Company, Lortel nom), Angel Reapers (Signature Theater), Brutal Imagination (Vineyard Theatre, Audible) and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Encores!). Sally has recorded numerous original Broadway cast albums. Television: Succession, Law and Order SVU, Chicago Med, The Good Wife, If These Walls Could Talk (HBO), PBS’s Great Performances and American Playhouse. Film: Pollock, Fearless and Scent of a Woman. Sally is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Yasen Peyankov (Baron Gottfried van Swieten) who was last seen in Describe the Night, has been a Steppenwolf Ensemble Member since 2002. He has appeared in over 20 productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, some of which include: Time of Your Life (also in Seattle and San Francisco), Morning Star (Jeff Award), Hysteria, Lost Land, Cherry Orchard, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire De Lune (also in Dublin), Superior Donuts (also on Broadway), The Tempest, Pillowman, Penelope, Three Sisters, The Children, A Doll's House: Part 2, and others. Steppenwolf main stage directing credits include: Seagull, The Fundamentals, Between Riverside and Crazy, Grand Concourse, Russian Transport, as well as Hushabye for First Look and The Glass Menagerie for Steppenwolf for Young Adults. He also translated and directed the Bulgarian premieres of August: Osage County and last fall Doll's House, Part 2 at the National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria. Film: Maestro, Captive State, Contagion, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, Transformers 3, The Company, US Marshalls. Television: Upload, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Madame Secretary (recurring), FBI, Stranger Things, The Mob Doctor, The Beast, Gifted Hands, Karen Sisco, Alias, The Practice, The Unit, Numb3rs, and others. Mr. Peyankov is Professor and Head of Theatre at the School of Theatre and Music at UIC where he teaches acting and directs plays.
Topdog/Underdog
Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright) is a multi-award-winning American writer/musician and the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog, which recently enjoyed its twentieth anniversary Broadway revival. The production won the 2023 Tony Award, (Best Revival Of A Play). Last season, she had new works which received world premieres, notably, at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Sally & Tom and, at Joe’s Pub in New York City, Plays for the Plague Year (winner of The Drama Desk Award for Best Music in a Play). As a college student, Parks studied creative writing with James Baldwin, who encouraged her to begin writing for the theatre.
Kenny Leon (Director) Tony Award-winning director. Broadway: Our Town, HOME; Purlie Victorious, A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, Topdog/Underdog, Ohio State Murders, A Soldier’s Play, American Son, Children of a Lesser God, Holler If Ya Hear Me, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mountaintop, Stick Fly, August Wilson’s Fences, Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf. Off-Broadway: King James, The Underlying Chris, Everybody’s Ruby, Emergence-See! (The Public); Smart People (Second Stage). Opera: Margaret Garner. Television: Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia; Colin in Black & White, 4400, Amend: The Fight for America, American Son (adapted for Netflix), Hairspray Live!, The Wiz Live!, Steel Magnolias, Dynasty, In My Dreams. Author: Take You Wherever You Go. Artistic Director Emeritus: Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company. Senior Resident Director: Roundabout Theatre Company. Awards: Obie, Actors Fund Medal of Honor, George Abbott Lifetime Achievement for American Theatre, Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre.
Glenn Davis (Booth) is an actor, producer and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, alongside Audrey Francis, where he has been an ensemble member since 2017. His Steppenwolf credits include Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older, The Brother/Sister Plays, Head of Passes, King James (also Mark Taper Forum), Describe the Night, and, most recently, Purpose (also Broadway). Additional Broadway credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (also Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum). Off-Broadway credits include Transfers (MCC Theatre), Wig Out! (Vineyard Theatre), Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle Nomination) and King James (MTC). Other regional credits include Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theatre Festival). International credits include Downstate (National Theatre, UK); Edward II, The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It (Stratford Festival); Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Television credits include Billions, 24, The Unit, Jericho and The Good Wife. Glenn is an Artistic Associate at the Young Vic in London and at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. He is also a partner in Cast Iron Entertainment, a collective of artists consisting of Sterling K Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, Andre Holland and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Cast Iron is currently in residence at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In 2021, Glenn founded The Chatham Grove Company along with his producing partner Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Namir Smallwood (Lincoln) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2017. Steppenwolf: Seagull, Bug, True West, BLKS, Monster, Man In Love, The Hot L Baltimore, Last Night and the Night Before. Broadway: Pass Over. Off Broadway: Pipeline, Pass Over (Lincoln Center). Chicago: Primary Trust (Goodman); Charm (Northlight Theatre); The Grapes of Wrath (The Gift Theatre); East Texas Hot Links (Writers Theatre). Regional: Marin Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Guthrie Theater. International: True West (Galway International Arts Festival). Television: Chicago Fire, Betrayal, Elementary, American Rust (Showtime/FreeVee); Power Book IV: Force (STARZ). Film: Rounding, About Time, Bailey's Blues.
Windfall
Tarell Alvin McCraney (Playwright, he/him) is Artistic Director of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for identifying, developing and programming new works and re-envisioned classics. He sets the strategic artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters. McCraney is an award-winning writer, producer and educator, best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins also won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. He is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre and a member of Teo Castellanos D-Projects in Miami, a graduate of New World School of the Arts, The Theatre School at DePaul University and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick. He was recently Co-Chair of Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama, where he remains on faculty. He is an associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, London, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Writers Branch).
Awoye Timpo (Director) is a Brooklyn-based Director and Producer. She recently directed Ngozi Anyanwu’s Leroy and Lucy at the Steppenwolf. Her recent New York credits include The Swamp Dwellers by Wole Soyinka (TFANA), Syncing Ink by NSangou Njikam (Apollo Theater), 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), 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 at the Huntington, Studio Theatre, Paradise Blue, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, 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, a collective of 5 artists created to explode the classical canon through an exploration of dramatic works by Black writers and Black performance history, theclassix.org.
Alana Arenas (Cast) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2007 and created the role of Pecola Breedlove for the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of The Bluest Eye, which also played at the New Victory Theater Off-Broadway. Recent Steppenwolf appearances include Purpose (also Broadway), the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of Monster, The Fundamentals, Marie Antoinette, Tribes, Belleville, Head of Passes, Good People, Three Sisters, The March, Man in Love, Middletown, The Hot L Baltimore, The Etiquette of Vigilance, The Brother/Sister Plays, The Tempest, The Crucible, Spare Change and The Sparrow Project. Other theatre credits include Disgraced (American Theater Company), The Arabian Nights (Lookingglass Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Kansas City Repertory Theatre), Eyes (eta Creative Arts), SOST (MPAACT), W.V.O.N. (Black Ensemble Theater) and Hecuba (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Television and film credits include David Makes Man, Canal Street, Crisis, Boss, The Beast, Kabuku Rides and Lioness of Lisabi. She is originally from Miami, Florida, where she began her training at the New World School of the Arts. Alana holds a BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Glenn Davis (Cast) is an actor, producer and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, alongside Audrey Francis, where he has been an ensemble member since 2017. His Steppenwolf credits include Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older, The Brother/Sister Plays, Head of Passes, King James (also Mark Taper Forum), Describe the Night, and, most recently, Purpose (also Broadway). Additional Broadway credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (also Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum). Off-Broadway credits include Transfers (MCC Theatre), Wig Out! (Vineyard Theatre), Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle Nomination) and King James (MTC). Other regional credits include Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theatre Festival). International credits include Downstate (National Theatre, UK); Edward II, The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It (Stratford Festival); Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Television credits include Billions, 24, The Unit, Jericho and The Good Wife. Glenn is an Artistic Associate at the Young Vic in London and at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. He is also a partner in Cast Iron Entertainment, a collective of artists consisting of Sterling K Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, Andre Holland and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Cast Iron is currently in residence at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In 2021, Glenn founded The Chatham Grove Company along with his producing partner Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Jon Michael Hill (Cast) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2007. Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Purpose (also Broadway), Leroy and Lucy, True West (also Galway Arts Festival), 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: A Man in Full (Netflix), Elementary (CBS), Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC), Eastbound and Down (HBO), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) and Person of Interest (CBS).
Catch as Catch Can
Mia Chung (Playwright) received a 2024 MacDowell Fellow, 2023 Whiting Award for Drama and a 2022 MAP grant for a new music-theatre work. Her play Catch as Catch Can premiered at Playwrights Horizons in Fall 2022 (2018 World Premiere, Off-Off-Broadway, Page 73). Additional work: Ball in the Air (NAATCO/Public Theater 2022). Double Take (PH Almanac 2021). This Exquisite Corpse (multiple awards). You For Me For You (Royal Court, National Theatre Company of Korea, Woolly Mammoth, multiple regionals. Published: Bloomsbury Methuen.) Awards, commissions, residencies include: Clubbed Thumb, Helen Merrill, Loewe Award for Music-Theatre, MTC/Sloan, NYTW, Playwrights' Center/Jerome, Playwrights Horizons/Steinberg, Playwrights Realm, South Coast Rep, SPACE/Ryder Farm. Alum: Huntington Playwriting Fellows, Ma-Yi Writers Lab, New Dramatists.
Amy Morton (Director) is an actor and director. She has performed in or directed many plays at Steppenwolf including: Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony nomination), August: Osage County (Tony nomination), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (also on Broadway), Hir, Cherry Orchard, The Berlin Circle, Three Days of Rain, The Unmentionables, Space, The Royal Family and many others. She has directed Guards at the Taj (both Atlantic Theatre and Steppenwolf), Glengarry Glen Ross, Clybourne Park, American Buffalo, The Dresser, The Pillowman, Topdog/Underdog, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Alliance Theatre), Awake and Sing (Northlight Theatre), and many others. Film: Rookie of the Year, 8MM, Falling Down, Backdraft, Up in the Air, Bluebird, It Ends With Us. Television: The Bear, Bluebloods, Girls, Homeland, currently a regular on Chicago PD as Sgt. Trudy Platt. Before joining Steppenwolf, Amy was a member of the Remains Theatre for 15 years.
Gary Cole (Actor R/R) has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble since 1986. Past Steppenwolf credits include: Balm in Gilead, Tracers, Frank’s Wild Years, Closer and August: Osage County. Off-Broadway: True West, Orphans (both of which originated at Steppenwolf) and the premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless. Television: West Wing, Entourage, Chicago Fire, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Suits, Veep and NCIS. Voiceover work includes: Family Guy, Big Mouth and Archer. Film: In the Line of Fire, A Simple Plan, Dodgeball, Office Space, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Pineapple Express.
Audrey Francis (Actor L/D) currently serves as Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre, alongside Glenn Davis, where she has been an Ensemble member since 2017. She is an actor, director, educator and coach. Audrey directed POTUS in Steppenwolf's 23/24 season, and her Steppenwolf performing credits include: Noises Off (also Geffen Playhouse), The Thanksgiving Play, The Herd, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Fundamentals, The Doppelgänger (an international farce) and Dance Nation. TV credits include Power Book IV: Force, Justified: City Primeval, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Empire. Film credits include Perpetrator, Knives and Skin, Later Days and Distant Learners. She has taught acting in New York, LA, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as at The University of Chicago and The Theatre School at DePaul. Audrey is a professional acting coach for Showtime, NBC, Fox and Amazon, and is the co-founder of Black Box Acting.
Tim Hopper (Actor T/T) is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. Recent roles at Steppenwolf include The Old Man in Fool for Love, Caden in The Thanksgiving Play and Andy in Downstate, which traveled to the National Theatre in London, and to Playwrights Horizons in New York. He also appeared at the Goodman Theatre in the title role of Uncle Vanya. Television appearances include Chicago Fire, Emperor of Ocean Park, the Amazon series Utopia, Fargo, The Americans and Empire. Film appearances include Perpetrator; Knives and Skin, School of Rock and To Die For, among others. Off-Broadway: New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre for a New Audience, Vineyard Theatre and the Atlantic Theater. Internationally: the Edinburgh Festival and Antwerp's De Singel Theatre.
ADDITIONAL 2025/26 SEASON INFORMATION
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. Assistive listening devices (ALDs), large-print programs and Braille 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:
United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf salutes lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Good Chaos, John Hart and Carol Prins, Joyce Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors ArentFox Schiff, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Conagra Brands Foundation, Steven and Nancy Crown, CRC Group, Julius Frankel Foundation, FROST CHICAGO, Kirkland & Ellis, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Smart Family Foundation of Illinois, Gary Sinise Foundation, and Vinci Restaurant. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier 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 E, 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.