Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced its 2016-17 season. Included in the slate: the world premiere of Linda Vista by ensemble member and Tony winner Tracy Letts (August Osage County) as well as the world premiere of David Rabe’s Visiting Edna, to be directed by artistic director Anna D. Shapiro.
The season will also include The Christians by Lucas Hnath, Taylor Mac’s Hir and Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee.
Kicking off the season in September will be Rabe’s Visiting Edna, which examines the relationship between a son and his ill mother. The production will begin September 15 and feature ensemble members Ian Barford, K. Todd Freeman and Sally Murphy.
In November, the theatre will stage the Steppenwolf-commissioned new work The Fundamentals by Erika Sheffer, about a resourceful housekeeper who negotiates a questionable path into management. Rounding out the year will be Hnath’s The Christians, which received an acclaimed run at Playwrights Horizons in 2015.
The new year will launch with Straight White Men, to be followed by Letts’ Linda Vista, beginning in March. The acclaimed playwright’s newest work is centered on Wheeler, a character described as “middle-aged, misanthropic, and underemployed.” The debut will feature ensemble members Ian Barford and Tim Hopper.
In May 2017, Steppenwolf will stage the world premiere of Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over in the Upstairs Theatre. The new play is inspired by Waiting for Godot and presents two black men who are passing the time on a corner. The season will conclude in August with Hir, about a newly liberated mother and her transgender son.
For more information and to purchase subscription packages, visit www.steppenwolf.org/.
