Laura Benanti and Alex Edelman to Bring Shows to Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Up first is Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, a one-woman comedy show, playing five performances August 6 – 9, 2026.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company will welcome award-winning performers Laura Benanti and Alex Edelman for two limited comedy engagements.
First up, direct from an acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe and two sold-out Off-Broadway runs comes Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, a one-woman comedy show from the mind of Tony Award winner Laura Benanti, playing five performances August 6 – 9, 2026. Known for her dazzling Broadway performances and razor-sharp wit, Benanti takes the stage to share her hilarious, heartfelt and sometimes brutally honest take on motherhood, people pleasing and the joys of aging as a woman. Blending side-splitting storytelling with original songs, this New York Times Critic's Pick is a love letter to recovering ingénues, mothers and anybody working on themselves. Based on Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, an Audible Original, Nobody Cares is created by Laura Benanti with songs co-written by Todd Almond and direction by Annie Tippe. The Steppenwolf presentation marks the first stop on a national tour for the project following a summer run at London’s Underbelly Soho this July, with further stops to be announced.
Up next, following a critically-acclaimed, sell-out run of Just For Us at Steppenwolf and around the globe, Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian Alex Edelman returns with another hilarious and thought-provoking dissection of identity: What Are You Going to Do, playing five performances August 12 – 16, 2026. This all-new show finds the Bostonian sweetheart asking different and more unsettling questions. Primarily, should he spend his time doing something else? Should he be saving lives like his physician father? Should he be trying to return to the sense of community he experienced growing up among Israelis and Palestinians? In a show that reckons with the effects of time spent in trauma, Edelman deftly weaves in and out of examinations of faith broadly—not just Judaism—and wonders if, perhaps, there might be better things out there for him.
Both shows will be presented in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. A special Steppenwolf member pre-sale begins Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 12 pm. Tickets for both shows go on sale to the general public on Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 12 pm.
Videos
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South Pacific Paramount Arts Centre (4/29-6/14) |
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Windfall Steppenwolf Theatre Company (4/09-5/31) |
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The Lifespan of a Fact Parker Players Theater (4/24-5/17) |
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The Jeff Miller Band w/Agua Fresca and Special Opening Act, Vince Phyllis' Musical Inn (6/03-6/03) |
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Open Mic Night Raue Center For The Arts (5/21-5/21) |
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Chicago Comedy Hour de Maat Theatre at The Second City (5/02-5/30) |
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Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical CIBC Theatre (9/29-10/11) |
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The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical North Shore Center for the Performing Arts - North Theatre (6/01-8/31) PHOTOS |
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The Three Little Pigs at Stahl Family Theatre Chicago Kids Company (5/06-7/31) |
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Water for Elephants (Chicago) James M. Nederlander Theatre (6/23-7/05) |
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