Last Chance To Catch Steppenwolf's FAKE, Closes 11/8

Steppenwolf Theatre Company launches its 2009-2010 season, exploring the theme of belief, with the world premiere of Fake, written and directed by ensemble member Eric Simonson. Fake features ensemble members Kate Arrington, Francis Guinan and Alan Wilder with Coburn Goss and Larry Yando. Fake plays through November 8, 2009 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted.

In 1914, renowned mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle invites four guests to his English country home. Each visitor has a connection to the infamous "Piltdown Man," purported to be the missing link between ape and man-later exposed as a hoax. Swinging back and forth through time, Fake investigates how "Piltdown" rattled assumptions about evolution, faith and science-and how we are transformed by our quest for the truth.

Ensemble member Eric Simonson recently completed a documentary on the late Studs Terkel for HBO. Simonson received a Tony® nomination for his direction of Steppenwolf's The Song of Jacob Zulu with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and directed an Oscar®-nominated documentary about the acclaimed South African singing group. Simonson received an Oscar® for Best Documentary Short for his film A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin in 2006. Other directing credits at Steppenwolf include Honest (also playwright), Carter's Way (also playwright), Slaughterhouse-Five (also adaptor) and Nomathemba (Hope).

The design team for Fake includes: Todd Rosenthal (sets), Karin Kopischke (costumes), Joe Appelt (lights) and Barry Funderburg (sound and composition). Rebecca Ann Rugg is the Dramaturg and Cecilie O'Reilly is the Dialect Coach. Michelle Medvin is the Stage Manager and Kathleen Petroziello is the Assistant Stage Manager.

Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance.

Harris Bank is the production sponsor of Fake.

Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance.

Fake was developed as part of Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf is recognized as a national leader in the development and production of new work for the American canon. Through this initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence and rigorously discovers and supports the work of early and mid-career playwrights.

Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and members of the Directors Circle.

Fake was originally commissioned by the Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director, Barry Grove, Executive Producer with funds provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of 42 artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting and textual adaptation. For additional information, visit www.steppenwolf.org.

Photo credit: Michael Brosilow