Martha Lavey News

Steppenwolf celebrates its 33rd season with Gala 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 2008-2009 season, an exploration of the imagination, with Up by Bridget Carpenter, directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro and featuring ensemble member Martha Lavey with Rachel Brosnahan, Jake Cohen, Tony Hernandez and Lauren Katz (additional casting to be announced). Up plays June 18 - August 23, 2009 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted. The press performance is Saturday, June 27 at 3:00 p.m.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 33rd season with GALA 2009: A Celebration of the Season of the Imagination on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. The GALA 2009 Co-Chairs are Nora Daley Conroy, Charles H. James III, Randall K. Rowe, Manuel 'Manny' Sanchez, Pat Pulido Sanchez and Anna D. Shapiro.

Goodman Theatre unites six diverse Chicago theater companies who are presenting work created, produced and/or performed by women for a special spring series, 'Taking the Stage: A Celebration of Women Making Theater,' April 4 - 19, 2009. Over the course of two weeks, each of the participating companies-Babes with Blades, Berwyn's 16th Street Theater, Goodman Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Serendipity Theatre Collective and Teatro Luna-presents productions, panel discussions and workshops that highlight the voices and visions of female theater artists, as well as the opportunities and obstacles they face today.

The 16th Annual Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration program, honoring world class scenic designer Todd Rosenthal (August: Osage County), will take place on Monday, April 27, at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a viewing of the third annual ?Theater Design Expo' showcasing the works of over 20 Chicago-area emerging theatrical designers and a student portfolio review. Martha Lavey, Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will moderate an inclusive discussion, 'Moving Chicago Productions to New York and Beyond' with the awardees, Director Anna Shapiro and Joshua Schmidt, composer and librettist, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Matt Dillon will appear at Steppenwolf as part of a one night event on April 6th, 'Nelson Algren Live: The 100th Birthday Celebration.' This event will celebrate the 100th birthday of the late Nelson Algren. The evening will include never-before-heard work by the famed Chicago writer. Other performers will also include ensemble members Martha Lavey, Estelle Parsons, and Dan Simon as well as authors Russell Banks, Barry Gifford, and Dan DeLillo.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is excited to announce its 2009-2010 Subscription Season, exploring the theme of belief. Season subscriptions go on-sale to the public on Tuesday, February 3 at 11 a.m. Steppenwolf ensemble members currently confirmed for the 2009-2010 Season include: Alana Arenas, Kate Arrington, Ian Barford, Frank Galati, Jon Michael Hill, Francis Guinan, Tina Landau, Tracy Letts, Amy Morton, William Petersen, Rondi Reed, Anna D. Shapiro, Eric Simonson and Alan Wilder. Additional casting to be announced.

Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to announce the Chicago engagement of August: Osage County, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play that tells the bitingly funny and sensationally entertaining tale of the Weston family of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Academy Award-winning actress Estelle Parsons will star as the family matriarch, Violet Weston. August: Osage County comes to Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre for a limited two-week engagement February 2 - 14, 2010. Written by 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Letts (Superior Donuts, Man From Nebraska, Killer Joe, Bug), this grand and gripping new play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead after the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of the storm. Directed by 2008 Tony Award-winner Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County is a rare theatrical event: a large-scale work filled with 13 unforgettable characters, a powerful tragicomedy told with unflinching honesty and the unforgettable breakthrough of a major American playwright. August: Osage County premiered and was produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2007. 'Steppenwolf is delighted that August: Osage County has a new life in Chicago,' comments Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey. 'Steppenwolf audiences were the first to see this exciting play written by our ensemble member Tracy Letts, under the direction of fellow ensemble member Anna Shapiro, and we're thrilled that it will be playing in Chicago again after its successful runs on Broadway and at the National Theatre of London,' Lavey said.

Broadway In Chicago is thrilled to announce the Chicago engagement of August: Osage County, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play that tells the bitingly funny and sensationally entertaining tale of the Weston family of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Academy Award-winning actress Estelle Parsons will star as the family matriarch, Violet Weston. August: Osage County comes to Chicago's Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre for a limited two-week engagement February 2 - 14, 2010. Written by 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Letts (Superior Donuts, Man From Nebraska, Killer Joe, Bug), this grand and gripping new play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead after the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of the storm. Directed by 2008 Tony Award-winner Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County is a rare theatrical event: a large-scale work filled with 13 unforgettable characters, a powerful tragicomedy told with unflinching honesty and the unforgettable breakthrough of a major American playwright. August: Osage County premiered and was produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2007. 'Steppenwolf is delighted that August: Osage County has a new life in Chicago,' comments Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey. 'Steppenwolf audiences were the first to see this exciting play written by our ensemble member Tracy Letts, under the direction of fellow ensemble member Anna Shapiro, and we're thrilled that it will be playing in Chicago again after its successful runs on Broadway and at the National Theatre of London,' Lavey said.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced today its newest ensemble member: William Petersen. The Steppenwolf ensemble, the longest-existing theater ensemble in the United States, now totals 42 members.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning American play August: Osage County by ensemble member Tracy Letts directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro, will begin an eight-week engagement this week at London's National Theatre (Lyttelton Theatre), playing November 21, 2008, January 21, 2009.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will pay tribute to late literary legend Studs Terkel with a free staged reading with music of Will the Circle Be Unbroken?, adapted by Derek Goldman from Terkel's book Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

Ten Chimneys Foundation, the National Historic Landmark estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, has chosen Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble member Francis Guinan as one of its eleven inaugural LUNT-FONTANNE FELLOWS, as part of the LUNT-FONTANNE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM, a groundbreaking national program to serve regional theatre actors and the future of American Theatre.

The 'Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award' was presented to Tony Kushner at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 21, at 620 Loft & Garden at Rockefeller Center. The honor comes with a cash prize of $200,000, making this by far the largest award ever created to honor and encourage artistic achievement in the American theater. Mr. Kushner was also presented with 'The Mimi,' a statue designed by Tony Award-nominated scenic designer and architect David Rockwell.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Nonprofit Finance Fund have awarded Steppenwolf Theatre Company a $1,075,000 grant to create groundbreaking new programming aimed at engaging young artists - and enhance the theater's Visiting Companies Initiative. Steppenwolf and nine other performing arts organizations across the country are receiving grants as part of Leading for the Future: Innovative Support for Artistic Excellence, a landmark arts initiative to fund innovative projects that address sector-wide challenges such as shifting audiences, decreased funding sources, and new technologies.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Nonprofit Finance Fund have awarded Steppenwolf Theatre Company a $1,075,000 grant to create groundbreaking new programming aimed at engaging young artists - and enhance the theater's Visiting Companies Initiative. Steppenwolf and nine other performing arts organizations across the country are receiving grants as part of Leading for the Future: Innovative Support for Artistic Excellence, a landmark arts initiative to fund innovative projects that address sector-wide challenges such as shifting audiences, decreased funding sources, and new technologies.

The trustees of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have awarded Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company a three-year, $600,000 grant as part of a new initiative to expand the commissioning for the development of new plays for the American stage - while providing audiences greater transparency into the artistic process.

The trustees of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have awarded Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company a three-year, $600,000 grant as part of a new initiative to expand the commissioning for the development of new plays for the American stage - while providing audiences greater transparency into the artistic process

'Theater Talk,' the nationally syndicated program co-hosted by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel and producer Susan Haskins, will air a historic panel discussion about the state of Midwest resident theatres on Friday, October 3 (early Saturday morning) at 12:30 AM on WNET, Channel 13.

'Theater Talk,' the nationally syndicated program co-hosted by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel and producer Susan Haskins, will air a historic panel discussion about the state of Midwest resident theatres on Friday, October 3 (early Saturday morning) at 12:30 AM on WNET, Channel 13.