Steppenwolf Theatre

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's revival of Susan‑Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog hits with the force of a classic seen anew—sharp, unsettling, and alive with history that refuses to stay buried. Under Kenny Leon’s precise direction, Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood deliver blistering performances as Lincoln and Booth, two brothers locked in a psychological game of survival where every joke, every memory and every card trick carries the weight of fate. This production doesn’t just revisit Parks’ Pulitzer masterpiece; it deepens it, revealing how the story shifts when lived by men carrying decades of disappointment, ambition and brotherly love. Highly recommended. buzznews.net/theatre/theatre… @SteppenwolfThtr @drprchicago #TopdogUnderdog #SusanLoriParks #SteppenwolfTheatre #KennyLeon #ChicagoTheatreScene #AmericanTheatre #PulitzerPrizeDrama #BuzzCenterStage #ChicagoTheatre #ChiTheatre

Performed at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Gift Theatre’s Hayward reimagines a father’s funeral as a Floridian‑style shiva—messy, loud, irreverent, and charged with unresolved pain. Netta Walker’s world‑premiere drama digs into the chaos of a family shaped by military trauma, generational wounds, and the ghosts that linger long after the body is gone. With humor cutting through the heaviness and grief sharpening every conflict, Hayward becomes a vivid portrait of a family discovering that the past is never truly buried. buzznews.net/theatre/theatre… @TheGiftTheatre @SteppenwolfThtr #TheGiftTheatre #Steppenwolf1700Theater #NettaWalker #ChicagoTheatre #FamilyDrama #InheritedTrauma #TheatreReview #livetheatre

It’s not every day that Chicago’s top artistic directors sit shoulder‑to‑shoulder and speak frankly about the state of theater - but at a packed Evening Inquiry event overlooking the Chicago River, they did just that. With fresh statewide data underscoring the creative sector’s massive economic footprint, the leaders of Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Court Theatre confronted the pressures reshaping their seasons: subscription numbers plunging, ticket revenue covering barely half their operations, and the growing tension between staging the classics and elevating daring new work. Their conversation revealed a field redefining itself in real time, where mission-driven storytelling must still meet box-office reality, and where Chicago’s vibrant storefront scene remains both a proving ground and a lifeline. It was a night that captured the urgency — and the possibility — of what comes next for Chicago theater. buzznews.net/theatre/theatre… @courtchicago @chicagoshakes @GoodmanTheatre @SteppenwolfThtr @Refracted_Labs #ChicagoTheatre #GoodmanTheatre #SteppenwolfTheatre #ChicagoShakespeare #CourtTheatre #EveningInquiry #ArtsAllianceIllinois #CreativeEconomy #ChicagoArts #TheatreIndustry #RegionalTheatre #NewWorks #TheatreCanon #Dramaturgy #ChicagoCulture #TheatreDiscussion #ArtsLeadership #StorefrontTheatre #TheatrePanel #ChrisJones #UniversityOfChicago #GleacherCenter #ChicagoEvents #BuzzCenterStage

"Steppenwolf’s Catch as Catch Can transforms emotional slippage into a gripping, beautifully executed piece of theatre." buzznews.net/theatre/theatre… @SteppenwolfThtr #CatchAsCatchCan #SteppenwolfTheatre #Steppenwolf #ChicagoTheatre #ChicagoPlays #ChicagoEvents #OnStage #LiveTheatre #TheatreReview #BuzzCenterStage #GaryCole #AudreyFrancis #TimHopper #AmyMorton #IdentityInMotion #EnsembleWork #TheatreCommunity #SupportLocalTheatre #ChicagolandArts #ShapeShiftingTheatre #NewPlay #ContemporaryTheatre