The New York theatre community knows Frank Galati as the director of Ragtime, The Grapes of Wrath and, for a time, Seussical. Chicago audiences also know his directing work well, but those with longer memories can remember when Galati frequently strode the boards as a player. His last such turn came in a 1996 Goodman Theatre production of Brecht's Galileo. After a 15-year hiatus, he now returns to acting, playing a leading role in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of Michael Healey's The Drawer Boy. The drama plays at Steppenwolf from April 12 to June 10. Official opening is April 22.

Galati will play Angus, one of two bachelor farmer brothers, and a World War II veteran who came out of the conflict with brain damage. John Mahoney plays the other sibling, Morgan. When Miles, a young actor who retires to the country to write a play, moves in with the brothers—and includes one of their stories in his drama—the farmers' lives are suddenly unsettled.

Mahoney is well known to television audiences from the sitcom "Frasier." He has appeared in many plays at Steppenwolf, where he is an ensemble member. He last appeared on stage in The Weir at the Geffen Playhouse in L.A. Johnny Galecki plays Miles. Anna D. Shapiro directs.

Tickets are $35-$45. Steppenwolf is located on Halsted St. For more information, call (312) 335-1650.

—By Robert Simonson