Performances under the direction of Pam MacKinnon, a frequent Albee interpreter, will play Dec. 2, 2010-Feb. 13, 2011, in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., in Chicago. Opening night is Dec. 12.

According to Steppenwolf, the Tony Award-winning not-for-profit, "On the campus of a small New England college, George and Martha invite a new professor and his wife home for a nightcap. As the cocktails flow, the young couple finds themselves caught in the crossfire of a savage marital war where the combatants attack the self-deceptions they forged for their own survival. Ensemble members Tracy Letts and Amy Morton face off as one of theatre's most notoriously dysfunctional couples in Albee's hilarious and harrowing masterpiece."

Coon will make her Steppenwolf debut. In Chicago, she has appeared in Magnolia (Goodman Theatre) and Bronte (Remy Bumppo). She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dirks' previous Chicago credits include The Chosen and Gary (Steppenwolf); A Man For All Seasons (Timeline); The Last Supper (Infusion); and more.

Letts joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in 2002. Previous Steppenwolf productions include American Buffalo, Betrayal, The Pillowman, Last of the Boys, The Pain and the Itch, The Dresser, Homebody/Kabul, The Dazzle, Glengarry Glen Ross (also Dublin and Toronto), Three Days of Rain and many others. Morton is an actor, director and (since 1997) a Steppenwolf ensemble member. Her Steppenwolf acting credits include Tracy Letts' August: Osage County (also Broadway, London and Sydney), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (also on Broadway), Betrayal, Last of the Boys, The Well-Appointed Room, Berlin Circle, The Royal Family, Homebody/Kabul, Three Days of Rain, The Unmentionables, Cherry Orchard, The Time of Your Life and many others.

Albee is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning American playwright whose works include A Delicate Balance, Seascape, Three Tall Women and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

The design team for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? includes Todd Rosenthal (sets), Nan Cibula-Jenkins (costumes), Allen Lee Hughes (lights) and Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen (sound). Malcolm Ewen is the stage manager. Deb Styer is the assistant stage manager.

For more information, visit www.steppenwolf.org.