Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf

Last Night and the Night Before will play April 6 – May 14, 2023 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater.

By: Mar. 22, 2023

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is continuing its 47th season with the Chicago premiere of Donnetta Lavinia Grays' Last Night and the Night Before, a moving exploration of love - Black, queer, familial - and what must be sacrificed to raise a child. Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, Last Night and the Night Before will play April 6 - May 14, 2023 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets starting at $20 are now on sale at Click Here or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Sunday, April 16 at 6 pm.

Get a first look at rehearsal photos below!

Last Night and the Night Before will feature ensemble member Namir Smallwood with Ayanna Bria Bakari, Sydney Charles, Kylah Renee Jones, Aliyana Nicole and Jessica Dean Turner.

Monique and her daughter Sam are on the run. From what, they will not say. Showing up on their family's doorstep in Brooklyn, the surprise visit raises more questions than it answers. As the specter of their abandoned life in Georgia creeps back into focus, the family is forced to consider what must be sacrificed to raise a child in an often-cruel world. Donnetta Lavinia Grays's heartbreaking and poetic portrait of love - Black, queer, familial - is a bold tribute to the enduring promise of tomorrow.

The creative team includes Regina García (Scenic Design), Izumi Inaba (Costume Design), Mary Louise Geiger (Lighting Design), Larry Fowler (Sound Design), Kirsten Baity (Intimacy Choreographer), Maya Vinice Prentiss (Fight Choreographer), Gigi Buffington (Company Voice, Text & Dialect Coach), Tom Pearl (Producing Director), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting Director), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager).

Photo credit: Joel Moorman

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
(clockwise from front center) Aliyana Nicole, Sydney Charles, Ayanna Bria Bakari and Jessica Dean Turner

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Sydney Charles and Aliyana Nicole

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Namir Smallwood and Ayanna Bria Bakari

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Kylah Renee Jones and Valerie Curtis-Newton

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Sydney Charles and Jessica Dean Turner

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Valerie Curtis-Newton and Jessica Dean Turner

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Kylah Renee Jones and Valerie Curtis-Newton

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Aliyana Nicole and Namir Smallwood

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Kylah Renee Jones

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Jessica Dean Turner and Sydney Charles

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Aliyana Nicole and Valerie Curtis-Newton

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Aliyana Nicole and Ayanna Bria Bakari

Photos: Go Inside Rehearsals for LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf
Namir Smallwood




RELATED STORIES - Chicago

1
Lifeline Theatre Holds Annual BIPOC Adaptation Development Showcase Photo
Lifeline Theatre Holds Annual BIPOC Adaptation Development Showcase

Lifeline Theatre will Showcase Desi Moreno-Penson's work-in-development, El Bacalao: The Catfish Man(based on Euripides' “The Bacchae”), directed by Ruben Carrazana, on Friday, July 14 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 15 at 2:30 p.m.; and Brandon Zang's work-in-development Nuwa In Fairyland, directed by Helen Young on Saturday, July 15 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 16 at 2:30 p.m. at Lifeline Theatre,  6912 N. Glenwood Ave.

2
Lifeline Theatre Welcomes New Production and Operations Managers to Staff Photo
Lifeline Theatre Welcomes New Production and Operations Managers to Staff

Lifeline Theatre will welcome Addoris Davis as Production Manager and John Craig as Operations Manager, beginning in May 2023.  Reporting to Artistic Director Ilesa Duncan and working in partnership with the Operations Manager, Davis will be responsible for managing the overall production of all of Lifeline’s programming.  

3
Otherworld Theatre To Hold Panel Discussions Following Select PUFFS Shows Photo
Otherworld Theatre To Hold Panel Discussions Following Select PUFFS Shows

Otherworld Theatre Company, the premier science fiction and fantasy production company in North America, today announced post-show panel discussions covering a variety of topics following select performances of Matt Cox's unauthorized, unsanctioned, unlicensed PUFFS, OR, SEVEN INCREASINGLY EVENTFUL YEARS AT A CERTAIN SCHOOL OF MAGIC AND MAGIC, running June 15 - July 23, 2023 on the Ray Bradbury stage.

4
Cast Set for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Chicago Shakespeare Theater Photo
Cast Set for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Chicago Shakespeare Theater has revealed the cast and creative team for the upcoming 75-minute family musical production Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, directed and choreographed by Amber Mak.

More Hot Stories For You

Videos


#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Merrily We Roll Along
Invictus Theatre’s Reginald Vaughn Theatre (6/23-7/23)CAST
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Cymbeline - Kelvyn Park
Midsommer Flight (7/21-7/23)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Cymbeline - Lincoln Park
Midsommer Flight (8/04-8/06)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Battle of the Bands Semi-Finals
Raue Center For The Arts (8/17-8/18)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Pinocchio
Beverly Arts Center (5/10-8/04)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Inclined to Decline
The Rooted Space (7/14-7/15)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Nat Zegree in The History of Rock 'n' Roll
Marriott Theatre (7/17-7/18)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# MANIA: The ABBA Tribute
Raue Center For The Arts (10/14-10/14)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# The Illusionists – Magic of the Holidays
Cadillac Palace Theatre (11/21-11/26)
#repshow# in #getregions.name[i]# Judy & Liza at the London Palladium-a tribute
Skokie Theatre (6/17-6/17)
VIEW ALL SHOWS  ADD A SHOW  

Recommended For You