Lavey, Brosnahan, Cohen, Hernandez and Katz Among Up Players at Steppenwolf

By Kenneth Jones
25 Mar 2009

Up promotional art
Up promotional art
Photo by Sandro

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's summer production of Bridget Carpenter's Up, a tale of a man who attaches balloons to his lawnchair and flies away, will feature ensemble member and artistic director Martha Lavey with Rachel Brosnahan, Jake Cohen, Tony Hernandez, Lauren Katz and additional cast members to be announced.

Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro directs the play, to run June 18-Aug. 23 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre in Chicago. Opening is June 28.

According to Steppenwolf, "On the best day of his life, Walter built a flying machine that reached the clouds. Ever since, he's tried to invent new ways to fly while his wife keeps the family afloat. Up is a quirky, bittersweet tale about escaping the boundaries of the everyday and how we dream ourselves into a future."

Carpenter is an award-winning playwright whose works have been produced at theatre across the country including Arena Stage, Lincoln Center and the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Shapiro won a 2008 Tony Award for her direction of Steppenwolf's critically-acclaimed play August: Osage County, which transferred to Broadway and London after a sold-out run in Chicago. A tour launches this summer in Denver.

The design team for Up includes Dan Ostling (sets), Mara Blumenfeld (costumes), Ann G. Wrightson (lights) Richard Woodbury (sound) and David Singer (composition). Laura D. Glenn is the stage manager and Deb Styer is the assistant stage manager.

For more information, visit www.steppenwolf.org.

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The musical The Flight of the Lawnchair Man tells a similar tale of a man who left earth. The show is inspired by true events.