Steppenwolf Theatre Company today announced updates to its upcoming 50th Anniversary Season. Due to artistic scheduling conflicts, the previously announced production of Topdog/Underdog will now shift to a future season. In its place, Steppenwolf is pleased to present Conor McPherson’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s master class in marital warfare The Dance of Death. Directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, the production marks ensemble member Kathryn Erbe’s return to Steppenwolf after nearly three decades, joined by Steppenwolf co-founder and ensemble member Jeff Perry.
Steppenwolf is also thrilled to announce Tony Award-winning director Robert Falls will now helm its much-anticipated production of Amadeus, making his Steppenwolf directorial debut. Falls will step in for ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro, who is taking a leave from artistic projects for health reasons. This Oscar and Tony Award-winning masterpiece by Peter Shaffer will feature a powerhouse cast including ensemble members Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy and Yasen Peyankov, along with the newly announced addition of Karen Rodriguez.
Steppenwolf Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis comment, “On behalf of Anna and the entire ensemble, we are moved and honored to finally welcome Robert Falls for his Steppenwolf directing debut. Bob, who has worked with upwards of 20 of our company members over the years, has a career that has shaped and transformed the trajectory of Chicago’s theater community. It’s fitting, then, that his first (and long overdue) production at Steppenwolf is Amadeus: a timeless look at artistic ambition and genius. We know that our production is in the inventive and reliable hands of one of the all-time greats.”
Davis and Francis add, “When it became clear that scheduling challenges had rendered our production of Topdog/Underdog impossible for the coming season, we were disheartened. Luckily, Steppenwolf is built around an ensemble teeming with inspiration and overflowing with ideas. This production of The Dance of Death is the product of that endlessly passionate ensemble, and we were immediately awed and excited by Yasen’s vision for this piece. What a pair of blessings: first, that Jeff Perry (one of our intrepid co-founders) will join the 50th Season; second, that we can simultaneously welcome ensemble member Kathryn Erbe back to Steppenwolf after nearly three decades. Shifting gears is always challenging, but having the collective passion of Steppenwolf’s artists at our backs is a reminder of the power of ensemble.”
Steppenwolf’s 50th Anniversary Season features five Steppenwolf Membership Series productions: a world premiere, two Chicago premieres and two modern masterpieces – all emblematic of the five decades of bold, visceral and muscular work that has made the Chicago theater legendary. Ensemble members from across generations are coming back to their home on Halsted to celebrate the last fifty years and secure the launch of the next fifty. Steppenwolf also doubles down on its decades-long mission to immerse Chicago’s youth in the arts through its lauded educational initiatives – and provide much-needed artistic space for the city’s bustling community of multi-disciplinary artists, along with itinerant theatre companies.
Founded in the mid-1970s by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry and Terry Kinney in the basement of a suburban church, the ensemble has expanded to 49 celebrated artists – among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the industry. Productions launched from the theatre – from The Grapes of Wrath and August: Osage County – to Pass Over and Purpose – have earned the company accolades including the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards and two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions. More than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally and more than 130 world premieres have left an indelible mark on the American Theatre.
The 2025/26 Season is presented at Steppenwolf’s expanded campus, which includes three theaters: the Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, the Downstairs Theater and the intimate 1700 Theater.
2025/26 Classic Memberships are now on sale starting as low as $160 and include all five Membership Series productions – three plays in the Downstairs Theater and two in the Ensemble Theater. Classic Members receive priority access to seats along with full membership benefits, including unlimited ticket exchanges. The Black Card, Steppenwolf’s flex membership, offers six ticket credits starting as low as $128* that allow patrons flexibility for when and how they see shows at Steppenwolf. For patrons under 30, RED Card Memberships offer six ticket credits for just $107*. Discounted packages for students and teachers and accessible packages are also available. For more information and to purchase Memberships, visit Audience Services at steppenwolf.org or call (312) 335-1650. *Price includes fees
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY’S FULL 50TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
Mr. Wolf (left to right) Playwright/ensemble member Rajiv Joseph, director/ensemble member K. Todd Freeman and ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith and Caroline Neff with Emilie Maureen Hanson.
Mr. Wolf – Chicago Premiere!
Written by ensemble member Rajiv Joseph
Directed by ensemble member K. Todd Freeman
Featuring ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith and Caroline Neff with Emilie Maureen Hanson
September 11 – November 2, 2025
In the Downstairs Theater
Press opening: Sunday, September 21, 2025 at 6 pm
Fourteen years ago, the infant Theresa was stolen from her parents. Now, the precocious 15-year-old has been rescued, and quickly returned to a family that had nearly forsaken hope – a family she neither recognizes nor understands. In ensemble member Rajiv Joseph’s unflinching play, a miraculous reunion sets the stage for provocative conversations: what makes a house a home? What nightmares are we willing to face for the sake of our children? And ultimately, what part do we play in the grand saga of human existence?
Amadeus (top, l to r) Playwright Peter Shaffer, director Robert Falls and ensemble members Ian Barford, Robert Breuler and K. Todd Freeman (bottom, l to r) ensemble members Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy, Yasen Peyankov and Karen Rodriguez.
Amadeus
Written by Peter Shaffer
Directed by Robert Falls
Featuring ensemble members Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy, Yasen Peyankov and Karen Rodriguez
November 6, 2025 – January 4, 2026
In the Ensemble Theater
Press opening: Sunday, November 16, 2025 at 6 pm
Vienna: a cacophony of music and intrigue. The emperor's composer, Antonio Salieri, holds court until the flamboyant entrance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: prodigy and wild child. The two artists begin a vicious and thrilling duet, a rivalry that will define their lives and legacies for years to come. Winner of 5 Tonys and 8 Academy Awards, Amadeus is the ultimate ode to ambition and musical genius, a brilliant requiem for a villain in history – but a hero in his own story. Vi saluto!
The Dance of Death (left to right) Playwright August Strindberg, adaptor Conor McPherson, director/ensemble member Yasen Peyankov and ensemble members Kathryn Erbe and Jeff Perry.
The Dance of Death
Written by August Strindberg
In a new version by Conor McPherson
Directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov
Featuring ensemble members Kathryn Erbe and Jeff Perry
January 29 – March 22, 2026
In the Downstairs Theater
Press opening: Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7:30 pm
In the high stone tower of an isolated naval fortress, Alice and Edgar approach their 25th wedding anniversary, haunted by shadows of resentment and bitterness. When Alice’s cousin Kurt comes to visit, the delicate balance of their dreary cohabitation falls off its axis, cracks growing into canyons. In Conor McPherson’s riff on August Strindberg's master class in marital warfare, a timeless love triangle waltzes to the surreal rhythm of madness, plunging us all into the deep.
Windfall (left to right) Playwright/ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney, director Awoye Timpo and ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis, Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood.
Windfall – World Premiere!
Written by ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Awoye Timpo
Featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis and Jon Michael Hill
April 9 – May 31, 2026
In the Ensemble Theater
Press opening: Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 6 pm
This is a story about money. Don’t let them fool you otherwise. When Mac loses his child in a clash with the local police, he is visited by three strangers who advise him to take the city's cash settlement, relocate and forget his grief – or else stay and remain impoverished surrounded by memories of the world his child fought so hard to protect. This world premiere from Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney explores how grief, justice, sexuality, gender, history and even pride become secondary concerns in the wake of currency.
Catch as Catch Can (left to right) Playwright Mia Chung, director/ensemble member Amy Morton and ensemble members Gary Cole, Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper.
Catch as Catch Can – Chicago Premiere!
Written by Mia Chung
Directed by ensemble member Amy Morton
Featuring ensemble members Gary Cole, Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper
June 4 – July 12, 2026
In the Downstairs Theater
Press opening: Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 6 pm
When a prodigal son returns to blue collar New England, his homecoming sets off a spiraling crisis for two families, threatening not only their relationships but their very identities. In Mia Chung’s wildly inventive Catch as Catch Can, three actors take on six roles, bridging generation and gender, in a theatrical tour-de-force that upends the kitchen sink drama and asks what happens when we refuse to play the roles we’re prescribed. Spanning hilarity, stunning virtuosity and outright horror, this ferocious Chicago premiere – featuring an all-ensemble cast – must be witnessed to be believed.
50th ANNIVERSARY SEASON ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Mr. Wolf
Rajiv Joseph (Playwright) has been a Steppenwolf Ensemble member since 2018. His play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama and he has twice won the Obie Award for Best New American Play, first in 2016 for Guards at the Taj (also a 2016 Lortel Winner for Best Play) and then, in 2018, for Describe the Night. Other plays include Dakar 2000, King James (Steppenwolf/Center Theater Group commission), Letters of Suresh, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The North Pool, The Lake Effect, Archduke and Mr. Wolf. Rajiv is a graduate of Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his MFA from New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa.
K. Todd Freeman (Director) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1993. Steppenwolf (acting): Downstate (Jeff Award), Airline Highway, The Brother/Sister Plays, Topdog/Underdog, A Clockwork Orange, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu. Steppenwolf (directing): The Christians, Good People. Broadway: Airline Highway (Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Award), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Obie, Lucile Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Fetch Clay Make Man (NYTW, Obie Award); Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Spunk (Public Theatre); Regional: Angels in America (Mark Taper Forum). TV: Will Trent, The Horror of Dolores Roach, FBI: Most Wanted, High Maintenance, God Friended Me, Blacklist, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Blindspot, Elementary, The OA, Law and Order: SVU, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue. Film: Bird in Hand, Same Storm, Naked Singularity, Anesthesia, Weightless, The Dark Knight, Cider House Rules, Gross Pointe Blank.
Kate Arrington (Hana) has been a proud member of The Steppenwolf Ensemble since 2007 where some of her favorite plays include The Violet Hour, The Pain and the Itch, Hot L Baltimore, A Parallelogram, Detroit, Belleville and East of Eden. New York: The Iceman Cometh, Grace, Our Mother's Brief Affair, The American Plan, The Wolves, Shakey Jake and Alice, The Qualms, When the Messenger is Hot, Sexy Saint James and Happy Now? Film and TV: Winning Time, Mare of Easttown, Succession, Ray Donovan, Billions, Eric Larue, Abandoned, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Knives and Skin, East New York, Evil, Madam Secretary, Blacklist, The Good Wife. As a playwright, her play Another Marriage was performed as part of Steppenwolf's 2022/23 season. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and has two perfect daughters, Sylvie and Mae.
Emilie Maureen Hanson (Theresa) Steppenwolf Theatre Company Debut. Chicago: The Malignant Ampersands (A Red Orchid Theatre). Regional: Sanctuary City (Seattle Rep); The Crucible,The Wolves (ACT); The Adding Machine (The Feast). Education: BFA, DePaul University. Representation: Paonessa Talent Agency. Thank you to my family, friends and educators!
Tim Hopper (Mr. Wolf) is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. Recent roles at Steppenwolf include The Old Man in Fool for Love and Andy in Downstate, which traveled to the National Theatre in London, and to Playwrights Horizons in New York. Television appearances include Chicago Fire, Emperor of Ocean Park, the Amazon series Utopia, Fargo, The Americans and Empire. Film appearances include the upcoming A24 film Enemies, as well as Perpetrator; Knives and Skin, School of Rock and To Die For, among others. Off-Broadway: New York Theatre Workshop, Vineyard Theatre and the Atlantic Theater. Internationally, the Edinburgh Festival and Antwerp's De Singel Theatre.
James Vincent Meredith (Michael) received critical acclaim as John Proctor in The Crucible, his first role as a Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member. James has appeared at Steppenwolf in 19 productions over the years, most recently in: Noises Off. Broadway credits include: The Book of Mormon (Eugene O’Neill-also national tour), The Minutes (Steppenwolf and also Studio 54), Skin of Our Teeth (LCT) and Superior Donuts (Music Box). Other Chicago theatre credits include work at Goodman, Lookingglass, Writers, Victory Gardens, Court and Chicago Shakespeare. Recent TV: Chicago Med (NBC), Your Honor (Showtime) FBI (CBS) and Fargo (FX).
Caroline Neff (Julie) is a Steppenwolf ensemble member. At Steppenwolf, she was last seen in Fool for Love, POTUS, Another Marriage, Describe the Night, Seagull, Dance Nation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, You Got Older, Linda Vista (also Taper Forum and Broadway), The Fundamentals, The Flick, Airline Highway (also Broadway), The Way West, Three Sisters, Annie Bosh is Missing and Where We’re Born. Select theatre credits include: Lettie (Jeff Award Best Actor; Victory Gardens Theater); Uncle Vanya (Goodman Theatre); A Brief History of Helen of Troy (Jeff Award for Best Actress), The Knowledge, Harper Regan, In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Steep Theatre); The Downpour (Route 66 Theatre); Port (Griffin Theatre); 4000 Miles (Northlight Theatre); Moonshiner (Jackalope Theatre). Regional credits include: Peerless (Yale Repertory Theatre). Film and television credits include: FBI, Three Women, Let the Right One In, The Red Line, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Open Tables and Older Children, and heard in multiple Audible Projects such as: Song of the Northwoods, Crowded Hours, Denali and Boar's Nest. She is a proud company member of Steep Theatre and holds her BA from Columbia College.
Amadeus
Peter Shaffer (Playwright) Sir Peter Shaffer, in full, Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (1926-2016), was a British playwright of considerable range who moved easily from farce to the portrayal of human anguish. Educated at St. Paul’s and Trinity College, Cambridge, Shaffer first worked for a music publisher and then as a book reviewer. His first play, Five-Finger Exercise (1960), is a tautly constructed domestic drama that almost overnight established his reputation as a playwright. It was followed by The Private Ear, The Public Eye (both 1962), and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964), a portrayal of the conflict between the Spanish and the Inca – “hope and hopelessness, faithlessness and faith.” In 1965, Shaffer’s adroit farce Black Comedy was first performed. Equus (1973; filmed 1977), dealing with a mentally disturbed stableboy’s obsession with horses, and Amadeus (1979; filmed 1984), about the rivalry between Mozart and his fellow composer Antonio Salieri, were successes with both critics and the public. Later plays include the biblical epic Yonadab (1985), Lettice and Lovage (1987) and The Gift of the Gorgon (1992). Shaffer was knighted in 2001 and sadly passed away in 2016.
Robert Falls' (Director) theater and opera work over four decades has included groundbreaking new plays, reimagined classics, large-scale musical works, and more. Falls’ major recent projects include his adaptation of The Cherry Orchard, Rebecca Gilman’s Swing State (Minetta Lane/Audible) at the Goodman Theatre, a new production of Don Giovanni (Lyric Opera of Chicago/Dallas Opera), David Cale’s We’re Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time (Goodman/Public Theater NYC), The Winter’s Tale and An Enemy of the People. Two of Falls’ most highly acclaimed Broadway productions – Death of a Salesman and Long Day’s Journey into Night – first staged at the Goodman, were honored with seven Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Other noteworthy Broadway productions include Desire Under the Elms, The Night of the Iguana, Conor McPherson’s Shining City (Tony Award nomination), Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio, The Rose Tattoo at Circle in the Square, Horton Foote's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Young Man from Atlanta and Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. Off-Broadway productions include Beth Henley’s The Jacksonian, Rebecca Gilman’s Blue Surge, Nicky Silver’s The Food Chain and Eric Bogosian’s subUrbia at Lincoln Center Theater (Obie Award). For the Goodman, Falls’ extensive credits include King Lear, Uncle Vanya, Measure for Measure, Galileo, The Tempest, A Touch of the Poet, The Misanthrope, Landscape of the Body, Three Sisters, his own adaptation of The Seagull and the Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey, for which he wrote a new book. He also directed the American premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's House and Garden, and the world premiere of Arthur Miller’s final play, Finishing the Picture, and with Seth Bockley, an adaptation for the stage of Roberto Bolaño’s epic novel 2666, and The Iceman Cometh, starring Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy (Brooklyn Academy of Music). He is the recipient of multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards, as well as such prestigious honors as the O’Neill Medallion (Eugene O’Neill Society) and the Savva Morozov Diamond Award from the Moscow Art Theatre. In 2015, Falls was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Ian Barford (Antonio Salieri) is a Steppenwolf ensemble member. He is currently performing in Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the Goodman. He first appeared at Steppenwolf in 1988 in A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Rondi Reed. Since then, he has originated 11 roles in plays that premiered at Steppenwolf including the Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning play August: Osage County by Tracy Letts. On Broadway: Linda Vista (Tony nomination and Outer Critics Award for Best Lead Actor in a play), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Tony for Best Play), August: Osage County (also at London's National Theater), The Minutes and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Outer Critics nomination for supporting Actor). Other Chicago credits include: All the Rage and Design for Living at the Goodman. The Little Prince at Lookingglass. In Los Angeles, he appeared at the Geffen Playhouse in: The Weir, God's Man in Texas and Take Me Out – all directed by ensemble member Randall Arney – and in Dead End at the Ahmanson. Favorite Steppenwolf productions include: The Libertine, Three Days of Rain, As I Lay Dying, Berlin Circle, Love Song, Art, The March and Linda Vista.
Robert Breuler (Major-Domo) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1987 and has appeared in over 40 Steppenwolf productions, making him a well-known favorite among Chicago audiences. He won a Joseph Jefferson Award for his acclaimed turn as a Russian negotiator in Steppenwolf's A Walk in the Woods. He was last seen in The Christians, and other memorable Steppenwolf roles include Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Les Moss in The Infidel, Pa Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Father Lux in Our Lady of 121st Street and The Armenian in Time of Your Life. Broadway credits include The Grapes Of Wrath, Carousel, The Song Of Jacob Zulu and Death Of A Salesman. Film credits include The Crucible, A Piece of Eden, Love and Action in Chicago, Shimmer, Trial By Jury, Painted Heart, Miles From Home and Purple Haze. Television credits include Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Prison Break, Early Edition, NYPD Blue, Angel Street, Keeper of the City, Father Clements Story and The Untouchables. Breuler is the recipient of a William and Eva Fox Fellowship and a Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship from the Ten Chimneys Foundation. He directed and performed in the cabaret show Torch, Sass and Swing for Steppenwolf's LookOut Series, written by and starring his wife Suzanne Petri. Bob is a founding member of Perennial Theatre, actors of a certain age, perennialtheatrechicago.com.
K. Todd Freeman (Joseph II) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 1993. Steppenwolf (acting): Downstate (Jeff Award), Airline Highway, The Brother/Sister Plays, Topdog/Underdog, A Clockwork Orange, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu. Steppenwolf (directing): The Christians, Good People. Broadway: Airline Highway (Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Award), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Song of Jacob Zulu (Tony Nomination). Off-Broadway: Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Obie, Lucile Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Awards), Fetch Clay Make Man (NYTW, Obie Award); Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Spunk (Public Theatre); Regional: Angels in America (Mark Taper Forum). TV: Will Trent, The Horror of Dolores Roach, FBI: Most Wanted, High Maintenance, God Friended Me, Blacklist, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Blindspot, Elementary, The OA, Law and Order: SVU, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue. Film: Bird in Hand, Same Storm, Naked Singularity, Anesthesia, Weightless, The Dark Knight, Cider House Rules, Gross Pointe Blank.
Francis Guinan (Count Franz Orsini-Rosenberg) has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble since 1979. He has appeared in more than 30 Steppenwolf productions including Noises Off (also Geffen Playhouse), Downstate, The Rembrandt, The Herd, The Night Alive, Tribes, The Birthday Party, The Book Thief, Time Stands Still, Endgame, American Buffalo, Fake, The Seafarer, Balm in Gilead and August: Osage County. He has also appeared in productions for Northlight Theatre, Goodman Theatre (appearing in Chekhov’s The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard), Writers Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater, TimeLine Theatre Company and American Blues Theater. Television appearances include The Exorcist, Boss, Mike & Molly, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Frasier, and several Star Trek episodes. Film work includes roles in The Last Airbender, Typing, Low Tide, Ghostlight and Constantine. For Kate.
Sally Murphy (Venticello 1) has been a Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member since 1993. Steppenwolf: Describe the Night, The Minutes, Linda Vista, Visiting Edna, Time Stands Still, Sex With Strangers, August Osage County, The Crucible, Mother Courage, Uncle Vanya, The Royal Family, Skylight, Earthly Possessions, and The Common Pursuit. Broadway: The Minutes, Linda Vista, August Osage County (also London’s National Theater and Sydney Theatre Company), Fiddler on the Roof, The Wild Party, Carousel (Lincoln Center) and The Grapes of Wrath (also London’s National Theater). Off Broadway: Downstate (Playwrights Horizons), Admissions, A Man of No Importance, Bernarda Alba (all Lincoln Center Theater), The Apple Family Plays (Public Theater, PBS, Zoom and European tour), The Threepenny Opera (Atlantic Theater Company, Lortel nom), Angel Reapers (Signature Theater), Brutal Imagination (Vineyard Theatre, Audible) and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (Encores!). Sally has recorded numerous original Broadway cast albums. Television: Succession, Law and Order SVU, Chicago Med, The Good Wife, If These Walls Could Talk (HBO), PBS’s Great Performances and American Playhouse. Film: Pollock, Fearless and Scent of a Woman. Sally is a graduate of Northwestern University.
Yasen Peyankov (Baron Gottfried van Swieten) who was last seen in Describe the Night, has been a Steppenwolf Ensemble Member since 2002. He has appeared in over 20 productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, some of which include: Time of Your Life (also in Seattle and San Francisco), Morning Star (Jeff Award), Hysteria, Lost Land, Cherry Orchard, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire De Lune (also in Dublin), Superior Donuts (also on Broadway), The Tempest, Pillowman, Penelope, Three Sisters, The Children, A Doll's House: Part 2, and others. Steppenwolf main stage directing credits include: Seagull, The Fundamentals, Between Riverside and Crazy, Grand Concourse, Russian Transport, as well as Hushabye for First Look and The Glass Menagerie for Steppenwolf for Young Adults. He also translated and directed the Bulgarian premieres of August: Osage County and last fall Doll's House, Part 2 at the National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria. Film: Maestro, Captive State, Contagion, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, Transformers 3, The Company, US Marshalls. Television: Upload, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Madame Secretary (recurring), FBI, Stranger Things, The Mob Doctor, The Beast, Gifted Hands, Karen Sisco, Alias, The Practice, The Unit, Numb3rs, and others. Mr. Peyankov is Professor and Head of Theatre at the School of Theatre and Music at UIC where he teaches acting and directs plays.
Karen Rodriguez (Constanze Weber) currently stars as Wanda Salazar in Netflix’s The Hunting Wives alongside Brittany Snow and Dermot Mulroney. She’ll next star in Spider Noir in 2026 alongside Nicolas Cage and Brendan Gleeson. Ms. Rodriguez joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in 2018. On the Steppenwolf main stage, she has appeared in POTUS, The Seagull, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Dance Nation, La Ruta, The Doppelgänger (an international farce) and The Rembrandt. Select theatre credits include I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Seattle Rep), The Way She Spoke (Greenhouse Theater Center), Breach (Victory Gardens Theater), The Displaced (Haven Theatre), Hookman (Steep Theatre) and Blue Skies Process (Goodman Theatre). Television credits include Acapulco (Apple TV) with Eugenio Derbez, SWARM (Amazon Prime) created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover, The Big Leap (FOX), Shining Girls (Apple TV) with Elisabeth Moss and Jamie Bell, season 2 and 3 of Power Book IV: Force (STARZ), Chicago Fire and Chicago Justice. She’s thrilled to be back on the Steppenwolf stage. Instagram: xkarenxrodriguez
The Dance of Death
August Strindberg (Playwright) Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish author and playwright whose work engaged the concepts of naturalism and expressionism. He was born in Stockholm on January 22, 1849, to an unsuccessful shipping agent and a maidservant. He attended the University of Uppsala, but he would often leave to act at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, teach or write plays. He left Uppsala permanently in 1872 to work as a journalist and a librarian at the Royal Library in Stockholm. In 1879, Strindberg published his novel “The Red Room,” making him famous in Sweden. His play Master Olof, a historical drama published in 1872, was finally performed in 1881, and he wrote several plays criticizing social conventions in Sweden, including Lucky Peter’s Travels (1882), The Father (1887), Miss Julie (1888), Creditors (1888), The Stronger (1888) and Playing with Fire (1892). During the 1890s, Strindberg suffered from psychological and emotional stress, which he described in his novel “Inferno,” that culminated in his adoption of mysticism. The post-"Inferno" period was more productive for Strindberg. He wrote thirty-six plays from 1898 to 1909, including To Damascus (1898), a trilogy, Gustav Vasa (1899), Erik the Fourteenth (1899), Easter (1900), The Dance of Death (1900), A Dream Play (1901), Queen Christinia (1901), Storm (1907), The Ghost Sonata (1907) and The Great Highway (1909). He died in Stockholm on May 14, 1912.
Conor McPherson (Adaptor) was born in Dublin in 1971. He attended the University College in Dublin, where he began to write and direct. His plays include Rum & Vodka, The Good Thief, This Lime Tree Bower, St. Nicholas, The Weir (Olivier Award, Best Play), Dublin Carol, Port Authority, Shining City (Tony Award nomination, Best Play) and The Seafarer. Film work includes I Went Down, Saltwater, Samuel Beckett’s Endgame and The Actors. Other awards include the George Devine Award; Critics’ Circle Award; Evening Standard Award; Meyer Whitworth Award; Stewart Parker Award; two Irish Film & Television Academy Best Screenplay Awards; CICAE Best Film Award, Berlin Film Festival (Saltwater); Best Film and Best Screenplay Awards, San Sebastian Film Festival (I Went Down).
Yasen Peyankov (Director) last directed at Steppenwolf Theatre his own adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Seagull in 2022 and has been an Ensemble Member since 2002. Other Steppenwolf main stage directing credits include: The Fundamentals, Between Riverside and Crazy (Jeff nomination for Best Production), Grand Concourse and Russian Transport. He also directed Hushabye for Steppenwolf’s First Look Repertory and The Glass Menagerie for Steppenwolf for Young Adults. He most recently directed Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at Facility Theatre. He also translated and directed the Bulgarian premieres of August: Osage County and last fall Doll's House, Part 2 (still running) at the National Theatre in Sofia, Bulgaria. As an actor he has appeared in over 20 productions at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, some of which include: Time of Your Life (also in Seattle and San Francisco), Morning Star (Jeff Award), Hysteria, Lost Land, Cherry Orchard, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire De Lune (also in Dublin), Superior Donuts (also on Broadway), and others. Film: Maestro, Captive State, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas,The Company, US Marshalls, and others. Television: Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Madame Secretary (recurring), FBI, Stranger Things, The Mob Doctor, Alias, The Practice, The Unit, Numb3rs, and others. Mr. Peyankov is a Professor and Head of Theatre at the School of Theatre and Music at UIC where he teaches acting and directs plays.
Kathryn Erbe (Alice) first worked with Steppenwolf on the Broadway production of The Grapes of Wrath (1990 Tony Award for Best Play). Her most recent Steppenwolf production was A Streetcar Named Desire. She was nominated for a Tony for The Speed of Darkness. Kathryn also appeared in The Father (MTC) and A Month in the Country (Roundabout) on Broadway. Off Broadway credits include Yosemite, Ode To Joy, AZAK (Rattlestick); Checkers (The Vineyard); Nikolai and the Others (Mitzi Newhouse LTC); Something Clean (Roundabout Underground) and Down the Shore (Atlantic) and most recently Ashes & Ink (AMT). She is best known to television audiences for her work on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order SVU. Her other TV credits include Oz, Homicide, The Runaway, George Wallace, Breathing Lessons, POSE, The Sinner, City On A Hill, Billions, How to Get Away With Murder and the upcoming Black Rabbit on Netflix. Film credits include 3 Backyards, Mistress America, Dating My Mother, Assassination Nation, Alex Strangelove, No Alternative, The Good House, Red Pill, Being Dead, Speaking of Sex, Stir of Echoes, Dream with the Fishes, Naked City, Entropy, What About Bob?, D2: The Mighty Ducks, Kiss of Death, The Addiction, Rich in Love and the upcoming The Plea.
Jeff Perry (Captain) is a co-founder of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has acted and directed in over 40 Steppenwolf productions. Regional: No Man’s Land, Seagull, Streamers, Time of Your Life, Anna Christie, A Steady Rain. International: The Grapes of Wrath, August: Osage County. Television: Nash Bridges, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, $1, Dirty John, Inventing Anna, Alaska Daily. Upcoming: Co-Producer The Steppenwolf Theatre Documentary. “I owe my life in art to the guidance of every teacher, artist, student, and storytelling colleague I’ve been blessed to share time and space with."
Windfall
Tarell Alvin McCraney (Playwright, he/him) is Artistic Director of Geffen Playhouse. In this role, he is responsible for identifying, developing and programming new works and re-envisioned classics. He sets the strategic artistic course for the Geffen’s Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters. McCraney is an award-winning writer, producer and educator, best known for his acclaimed trilogy, The Brother/Sister Plays. His script In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue is the basis for the Oscar–winning film Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins, for which McCraney and Jenkins also won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. He is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre and a member of Teo Castellanos D-Projects in Miami, a graduate of New World School of the Arts, The Theatre School at DePaul University and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Warwick. He was recently Co-Chair of Playwriting at the David Geffen School of Drama, where he remains on faculty. He is an associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company, London, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Writers Branch).
Awoye Timpo (Director) is a Brooklyn-based Director and Producer. She recently directed Ngozi Anyanwu’s Leroy and Lucy at the Steppenwolf. Her recent New York credits include The Swamp Dwellers by Wole Soyinka (TFANA), Syncing Ink by NSangou Njikam (Apollo Theater), Elyria by Deepa Purohit (Atlantic Theater), Wedding Band by Alice Childress (Theatre for a New Audience), In Old Age by Mfoniso Udofia (New York Theatre Workshop), Carnaval by Nikkole Salter (National Black Theatre), Good Grief by Ngozi Anyanwu (Vineyard Theatre and Audible) and The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu (Atlantic Theater Company). Regionally, she has directed at the Huntington, Studio Theatre, Paradise Blue, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Rep, Marin Theatre Company. Other projects include concert performances for independent artists as well as for the NBA, Ndebele Funeral (59E59, Edinburgh, South African Tour), “Black Picture Show” (Artists Space/Metrograph) and Bluebird Memories (Audible). Awoye is a Creative Arts Consultant for the African American Policy Forum and the Founding Producer of Classix, a collective of 5 artists created to explode the classical canon through an exploration of dramatic works by Black writers and Black performance history, theclassix.org.
Alana Arenas (Cast) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2007 and created the role of Pecola Breedlove for the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of The Bluest Eye, which also played at the New Victory Theater Off-Broadway. Recent Steppenwolf appearances include Purpose (also Broadway), the Steppenwolf for Young Adults production of Monster, The Fundamentals, Marie Antoinette, Tribes, Belleville, Head of Passes, Good People, Three Sisters, The March, Man in Love, Middletown, The Hot L Baltimore, The Etiquette of Vigilance, The Brother/Sister Plays, The Tempest, The Crucible, Spare Change and The Sparrow Project. Other theatre credits include Disgraced (American Theater Company), The Arabian Nights (Lookingglass Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Kansas City Repertory Theatre), Eyes (eta Creative Arts), SOST (MPAACT), W.V.O.N. (Black Ensemble Theater) and Hecuba (Chicago Shakespeare Theater). Television and film credits include David Makes Man, Canal Street, Crisis, Boss, The Beast, Kabuku Rides and Lioness of Lisabi. She is originally from Miami, Florida, where she began her training at the New World School of the Arts. Alana holds a BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Glenn Davis (Cast) is an actor, producer and Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, alongside Audrey Francis, where he has been an ensemble member since 2017. His Steppenwolf credits include Downstate, The Christians, You Got Older, The Brother/Sister Plays, Head of Passes, King James (also Mark Taper Forum), Describe the Night, and, most recently, Purpose (also Broadway). Additional Broadway credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (also Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum). Off-Broadway credits include Transfers (MCC Theatre), Wig Out! (Vineyard Theatre), Downstate (Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle Nomination) and King James (MTC). Other regional credits include Moscow x6 (Williamstown Theatre Festival). International credits include Downstate (National Theatre, UK); Edward II, The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It (Stratford Festival); Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Television credits include Billions, 24, The Unit, Jericho and The Good Wife. Glenn is an Artistic Associate at the Young Vic in London and at the Vineyard Theatre in New York. He is also a partner in Cast Iron Entertainment, a collective of artists consisting of Sterling K Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Michael Hill, Andre Holland and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Cast Iron is currently in residence at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In 2021, Glenn founded The Chatham Grove Company along with his producing partner Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Jon Michael Hill (Cast) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2007. Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Purpose (also Broadway), Leroy and Lucy, True West (also Galway Arts Festival), Pass Over, Constellations, Head of Passes, The Hot L Baltimore, The Tempest, Kafka on the Shore, The Unmentionables. Broadway: Superior Donuts, Pass Over. Off-Broadway: The Refuge Plays (New York Theatre Workshop) Pass Over (Lincoln Center). Film: Pass Over, Widows, In The Radiant City, No Pay, Nudity. Television: A Man in Full (Netflix), Elementary (CBS), Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC), Eastbound and Down (HBO), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) and Person of Interest (CBS).
Namir Smallwood (Cast) joined the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble in 2017. Steppenwolf: You Will Get Sick, The Book of Grace, Seagull, Bug, True West, BLKS, Monster, Man In Love, The Hot L Baltimore, Last Night and the Night Before. Broadway: Pass Over. Off Broadway: Pipeline, Pass Over (Lincoln Center). Chicago: The Lost Boys of Sudan (Victory Gardens Theater); Charm (Northlight Theatre); The Grapes of Wrath (The Gift Theatre); East Texas Hot Links (Writers Theatre). Regional: Marin Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, Ten Thousand Things, Guthrie Theater. International: True West (Galway International Arts Festival). Television: Chicago Fire, Betrayal, Elementary, American Rust (Showtime/FreeVee); Power Book IV: Force (STARZ). Film: Rounding.
Catch as Catch Can
Mia Chung (Playwright) received a 2024 MacDowell Fellow, 2023 Whiting Award for Drama and a 2022 MAP grant for a new music-theatre work. Her play Catch as Catch Can premiered at Playwrights Horizons in Fall 2022 (2018 World Premiere, Off-Off-Broadway, Page 73). Additional work: Ball in the Air (NAATCO/Public Theater 2022). Double Take (PH Almanac 2021). This Exquisite Corpse (multiple awards). You For Me For You (Royal Court, National Theatre Company of Korea, Woolly Mammoth, multiple regionals. Published: Bloomsbury Methuen.) Awards, commissions, residencies include: Clubbed Thumb, Helen Merrill, Loewe Award for Music-Theatre, MTC/Sloan, NYTW, Playwrights' Center/Jerome, Playwrights Horizons/Steinberg, Playwrights Realm, South Coast Rep, SPACE/Ryder Farm. Alum: Huntington Playwriting Fellows, Ma-Yi Writers Lab, New Dramatists.
Amy Morton (Director) is an actor and director. She has performed in or directed many plays at Steppenwolf including: Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony nomination), August: Osage County (Tony nomination), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (also on Broadway), Hir, Cherry Orchard, The Berlin Circle, Three Days of Rain, The Unmentionables, Space, The Royal Family, You Will Get Sick and many others. She has directed Guards at the Taj (both Atlantic Theatre and Steppenwolf), Glengarry Glen Ross, Clybourne Park, American Buffalo, The Dresser, The Pillowman, Topdog/Underdog, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Alliance Theatre), Awake and Sing (Northlight Theatre), and many others. Film: Rookie of the Year, 8MM, Falling Down, Backdraft, Up in the Air, Bluebird, It Ends With Us. Television: The Bear, Bluebloods, Girls, Homeland, currently a regular on Chicago PD as Sgt. Trudy Platt. Before joining Steppenwolf, Amy was a member of the Remains Theatre for 15 years.
Gary Cole (Roberta Lavecchia/Robbie Lavecchia) has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble since 1986. Past Steppenwolf credits include: Balm in Gilead, Tracers, Frank’s Wild Years, Closer and August: Osage County. Off-Broadway: True West, Orphans (both of which originated at Steppenwolf) and the premiere of Sam Shepard’s Heartless. Television: West Wing, Entourage, Chicago Fire, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Suits, Veep and NCIS. Voiceover work includes: Family Guy, Big Mouth and Archer. Film: In the Line of Fire, A Simple Plan, Dodgeball, Office Space, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Pineapple Express.
Audrey Francis (Lon Lavecchia/Daniela Lavecchia) currently serves as Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre, alongside Glenn Davis, where she has been an Ensemble member since 2017. She is an actor, director, educator and coach. Audrey directed POTUS in Steppenwolf's 23/24 season, and her Steppenwolf performing credits include: Noises Off (also Geffen Playhouse), The Thanksgiving Play, The Herd, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Fundamentals, The Doppelgänger (an international farce) and Dance Nation. TV credits include Power Book IV: Force, Justified: City Primeval, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Empire. Film credits include Perpetrator, Knives and Skin, Later Days and Distant Learners. She has taught acting in New York, LA, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as at The University of Chicago and The Theatre School at DePaul. Audrey is a professional acting coach for Showtime, NBC, Fox and Amazon, and is the co-founder of Black Box Acting.
Tim Hopper (Theresa Phelan/Tim Phelan) is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble. Recent roles at Steppenwolf include The Old Man in Fool for Love, Caden in The Thanksgiving Play and Andy in Downstate, which traveled to the National Theatre in London, and to Playwrights Horizons in New York. He also appeared at the Goodman Theatre in the title role of Uncle Vanya. Television appearances include Chicago Fire, Emperor of Ocean Park, the Amazon series Utopia, Fargo, The Americans and Empire. Film appearances include Perpetrator; Knives and Skin, School of Rock and To Die For, among others. Off-Broadway: New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre for a New Audience, Vineyard Theatre and the Atlantic Theater. Internationally: the Edinburgh Festival and Antwerp's De Singel Theatre.
ADDITIONAL 2025/26 SEASON INFORMATION
Education and Engagement:
Throughout the 2025/26 Season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to education and the next generation of audiences with dedicated student matinee performances during four of the five Membership Series productions (Mr. Wolf, Amadeus, The Dance of Death and Windfall). Reaching nearly 15,000 teens, educators and community members annually, Steppenwolf Education and Engagement also includes in-school residencies, teen programs, community partnerships, educator trainings for classroom teachers and teaching artists, and a brand-new series of on-site workshops in art-making and theater production. For additional information about Steppenwolf’s Education and Engagement programming and to register your school for a field trip visit steppenwolf.org/education .
Accessibility:
As a commitment to make the Steppenwolf experience accessible to everyone, performances featuring American Sign Language Interpretation, Open Captioning and Audio Description are offered during the run of each STC production. Assistive listening devices (ALDs), large-print programs and Braille programs are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access or e-mail access@steppenwolf.org.
Sponsor Information:
United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Good Chaos, Joyce Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, ArentFox Schiff, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Steven and Nancy Crown, CRC Group, Rich and Margery Feitler, Julius Frankel Foundation, FROST CHICAGO, Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Orlebeke Foundation, PNC, Polk Bros. Foundation, Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker, Sacks Family Foundation, Smart Family Foundation of Illinois, Gary Sinise Foundation, and Vinci Restaurant. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.
About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation’s premier Ensemble Theater with 49 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions have made this theatre legendary. From the 1980 phenomenon of Balm in Gilead, to The Grapes of Wrath, August: Osage County, Downstate, The Brother/Sister Plays, and now, the 2025 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Purpose, Steppenwolf Theatre has had a long-running and undeniable impact on American Theater and Chicago's cultural landscape. Founded in 1976, Steppenwolf started as a group of teens performing in the basement of a church. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards, two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the boundaries of live theater and pushes the limits of acting and performance.
Steppenwolf’s Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.