Steppenwolf Theatre Presents Penelope 12/1-2/5/2012

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 2011/12 season with Penelope by Enda Walsh, directed by ensemble member Amy Morton, playing December 1, 2011 - February 5, 2012 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Penelope features ensemble members Ian Barford, John Mahoney and Yasen Peyankov with Scott Jaeck and Logan Vaughn. The press performances are Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 3 pm and Tuesday, December 13 at 7:30 pm. Single tickets are currently on sale.

On a sun-scorched island off the coast of Greece, beautiful Penelope awaits the return of her husband from war. Beneath her window, four Speedo-clad men camp in an empty swimming pool, a cock-eyed internment where both provisions and time are running low. Locked in a do-or-die competition to win Penelope's love, they preen and posture and connive in a last ditch effort to cheat a grisly fate. Penelope, the newest play by powerhouse Irish playwright Enda Walsh, is an eloquent, wildly funny riff on life, love and the war at home.

Enda Walsh is an Obie Award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose plays include Disco Pig, The Walworth Farce, The New Electric Ballroom and Chatroom. His 2008 biopic, Hunger, won numerous awards including the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Amy Morton's many Steppenwolf directing credits include Clybourne Park, American Buffalo, Dublin Carol, The Weir, The Pillowman, Love-Lies-Bleeding (also Kennedy Center) and Glengarry Glen Ross (also Dublin and Toronto).

Steppenwolf's 2011/12 season, Dispatches from the Homefront, explores how everyday lives are touched by war. In each of the five plays, war exerts a pressure-sometimes centrally, sometimes obliquely-on the lives of the characters-and moves them to action. The plays are alive with the humor, the tenderness and the urgency of lives struggling to find home.

The production team for Penelope includes: Walt Spangler (scenic design), Ana Kuzmanic (costume design), James F. Ingalls (lighting design) and Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen (original music and sound design). Additional credits include: Erica Daniels (casting), Malcolm Ewen (stage manager) and Christine D. Freeburg (assistant stage manager).

Title: Penelope
Playwright: Enda Walsh
Director: Ensemble member Amy Morton
Featuring: Ensemble members Ian Barford (Burns), John Mahoney (Fitz) and Yasen Peyankov (Quinn) with Scott Jaeck (Dunne) and Logan Vaughn (Penelope).

Location: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Dates: Previews: December 1 - 10, 2011.
Press Performances: Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 3 pm and Tuesday, December 13 at 7:30 pm.
Opening: Sunday, December 11, 2011.
Regular Run: December 13, 2011 - February 5, 2012.

Curtain Times: Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 pm
(Sunday evening performances through January 15 only)
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 pm
Wednesday matinees on January 18 & 25 and February 1 at 2 pm
Note: There is no 7:30 pm performance on Tuesday, December 6; the evening performance on Sunday, December 11 begins at 6 pm; there are no 3 pm or 7:30 pm performances on Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve), Sunday, December 25 (Christmas Day) and Sunday, January 1 (New Year's Day).

Ticket prices: Previews: $20-$52
Regular Run: $20-$78
20 for $20: Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11 am on the day of each performance (1 pm for Sunday performances).
Rush Tickets: Half-price and $15 student rush tickets are available one hour before each show.
Student Discounts: $15 student tickets are available online in advance using promo code: "PENELOPE15."(Limit 2 tickets. Must present a valid student ID for each ticket). For additional student discounts, visit www.steppenwolf.org/students.

Audience Services: 1650 N. Halsted St., 312-335-1650
Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org.

Accessible Performances:
Sign-interpreted performance: Friday, January 20 at 7:30 pm
Open captioned performance: Saturday, January 21 at 3 pm
Audio-described performance plus touch tour: Sunday, February 5 at 1:30 pm (3 pm performance)

Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance.

ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor.
Partial support for open captioning provided by Theatre Development Fund.

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

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL (Martha Lavey, Artistic Director; David Hawkanson, Executive Director) is where great acting meets big ideas. Our passion is to tell stories about how we live now. Our mission is to engage audiences in an exchange of ideas that makes us think harder, laugh longer, feel more. The company was formed in 1976 by a collective of actors and is dedicated to an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through ongoing group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned ensemble of 43 artists who represent a remarkable generation of actors, directors and playwrights. For additional information, visit www.steppenwolf.org, www.facebook.com/SteppenwolfTheatre and www.twitter.com/SteppenwolfThtr.