Steppenwolf Theatre’s 2023-24 season has Laurie Metcalf and a new play from the author of ‘The Whale’
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A rare appearance by longtime ensemble member and acclaimed American actress Laurie Metcalf in a new play by Samuel D. Hunter and a world premiere about Black politics from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins are among the highlights of the new season by Chicago’s storied Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Also on tap during the five-show subscription season on Halsted Street: The Chicago premiere of the Broadway comedy “POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” marking the Steppenwolf directorial debut of co-artistic director Audrey Francis; the Chicago premiere of “Sanctuary City” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok; and the Chicago premiere of Larissa FastHorse’s progressive satire “The Thanksgiving Play,” a piece also opening on Broadway this spring.
In a joint interview with co-artistic director Glenn Davis, Francis said the duo’s first programmed season was intended to be audience focused.
“We have asked ourselves, ‘What is Steppenwolf giving to the people who give us their evening?’ What are the things that will keep our audience leaning forward and intrigued?” Francis said.
Metcalf, among the storied ensemble’s biggest stars, will appear in a yet-to-be-titled Steppenwolf commission from Hunter, now best known for writing the play on which the widely acclaimed movie “The Whale” was based. Joe Mantello (“Wicked”) is slated to direct.
“We wanted to put the three of them together,” Davis said, calling Metcalf “perhaps the best American stage actress of her generation.”
“Sanctuary City” (Sept. 14 to Nov. 18 in the Ensemble Theater): By Majok, directed by Steph Paul.
“POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” (Oct. 26 to Dec. 3 in the Downstairs Theater): By Selina Fillinger, directed by Francis. Starring ensemble members Celeste M. Cooper, Sandra Marquez, Caroline Neff and Karen Rodriguez
“Purpose” (March 14 to April 21, 2024 in the Downstairs Theater): World premiere by Jacobs-Jenkins (“The Octoroon”). Set in Illinois and concerned with the history of Black political radicalism, the piece will star Alana Arenas, Jon Michael Hill and Davis.
“The Thanksgiving Play” (April 25 to June 2, 2024 in the Ensemble Theater): By FastHorse, with ensemble members Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper.
Untitled work by Hunter will be June 13 to July 21, 2024 in the Downstairs Theater.
The Steppenwolf slate has seen some trims from pre-pandemic years. The Steppenwolf for Young Adults program will stage just one show, “a home what howls (or the house what was ravine)” by Matthew Paul Olmos, a piece about displaced communities around the globe, to be directed by Laura Alcalá Baker. However, “Sanctuary City’ will have a second run with daytime performances aimed at school groups, following its regular engagement. Also, Steppenwolf has not announced any programming between the middle of November and early February, which pre-pandemic represented peak weeks for the theater.
Francis said the theater likely will present shows produced by others during that time, as was the case last year with Mike Birbiglia. Also to come is the schedule of presentations slated for the 1700 Theatre performance space, typically a mix of festivals, shows by visiting storefront companies and cabaret-style performances.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
