Photos: Inside Opening Night of THE DANCE OF DEATH at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Now running at Steppenwolf Theatre Company is August Strindberg’s The Dance of Death, adapted by Conor McPherson, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, and featuring an all-ensemble cast. The Dance of Death will play through March 22, 2026 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.  Check out photos from inside opening night here!

Steppenwolf ensemble member Jeff Perry (No Man’s Land, August: Osage County, Scandal) returns to the company he co-founded five decades ago, joined by fellow ensemble members Cliff Chamberlain (You Will Get Sick, Fool for Love, The Minutes) and Kathryn Erbe (The Grapes of Wrath, A Streetcar Named Desire, Law & Order: Criminal Intent), who returns to the Steppenwolf stage for the first time in nearly three decades.

In the high stone tower of an isolated naval fortress, Alice and Edgar are about to celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss – if decades of resentment, recrimination and mutual sabotage count as bliss. But when an alluring visitor arrives, the delicate balance of their tedious arrangement falls off its axis, cracks growing into canyons. In Conor McPherson’s wicked take on Strindberg’s masterclass in marital warfare, a twisted love triangle waltzes off the edge of a cliff, plunging us all into the deep.

The creative team includes Collette Pollard (Scenic Design), Ana Kuzmanic (Costume Design) Lee Fiskness (Lighting Design), Rick Sims (Sound Design), Jyreika Guest (Fight and Intimacy Consultant), Jason K. Martin (Voice Coach), Claire Kaplan (Movement Consultant), Abhi Shrestha (Dramaturg), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Tom Pearl (Producing Director), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager). 

Photo Credit: Elías Carmona-Rivera

Cast/ensemble members Jeff Perry, Kathryn Erbe and Cliff Chamberlain

Cast/ensemble members Jeff Perry, Kathryn Erbe, Cliff Chamberlain with Director/ensemble member Yasen Peyankov

Cast and understudies Jeff Perry, John Lister, Kathryn Erbe, Cliff Chamberlain, Tiffany Bedwell and Shane Kenyon

Understudies John Lister, Tiffany Bedwell and Shane Kenyon

Creative team members Jason Martin, Abhi Shrestha, Jyreika Guest, Collette Pollard, Ana Kuzmanic and Josie Everett

Steppenwolf ensemble members Jeff Perry, Cliff Chamberlain, Kate Arrington, Kathryn Erbe, Audrey Francis and Yasen Peyankov

xecutive Director E. Brooke Flanagan, Jeff Perry, Cliff Chamberlain, Artistic Director Audrey Francis, Yasen Peyankov and Kathryn Erbe

Assistant Director Sonya Madrigal and Director Yasen Peyankov

Understudy John Lister and Stage Manager Laura Glenn

Everly Chamberlain, Cliff Chamberlain and Robyn Chamberlain

Bisa Peyankov and Director Yasen Peyankov