Review: WINDFALL at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s world-premiere play WINDFALL is part somber, part whimsy — which is true to his unique playwriting style. It’s a poignantly topical play, yet sometimes too on the nose. I enjoyed how McCraney blends the hyperreal and the surreal in a play that asks the question: Should we reject the system altogether (in this case, law enforcement), or should we take what it offers us as a form of fighting from within? While WINDFALL certainly sways audiences towards one side, it genuinely ponders both.

After a police officer shoots Mr. Mano’s child Eli — and Eli is presumed missing or dead — representatives for the Chicago police department attempt to offer him a sizable cash settlement. Mr. Mano wants to reject the settlement outright, while his older son Marcus urges him to take what he thinks he’s due (after all, as Marcus remarks, all money is blood money, anyway). Along the way, three figures (all played by Alana Arenas) appear at Mr. Mano’s door — akin to the Ghosts in A CHRISTMAS CAROL — as he grapples with his decision.

McCraney’s writing contrasts the peaceful protest of Eli and their comrades Cori (Jon Michael Hill) and another unnamed protestor (Namir Smallwood) with Eli’s forcible removal from a protest camp — and, of course, the hush money the CPD aims to offer Mr. Mano. While truthful, that’s a rather obvious binary. Likewise, Esco Jouléy is moving and engaging as Eli, encouraging audience participation. But the causes for Eli’s protests are somewhat unclear, vaguely connected to missing persons of color. And while the initial set-up for WINDFALL seems apparent, McCraney offers a significant twist that might bring audiences to reframe their thoughts. It was smart, and one I didn’t see coming. 

The play’s blend of real and not-quite-real is engaging and enticing, and McCraney skillfully weaves between them. While WINDFALL offers an intriguing mix of character dynamics, most of the individual scenes run longer than necessary. WINDFALL clocks in at just over two hours with an intermission, but I think it’s ripe for tightening and a neat 90-minute, intermissionless treatment (Yes, “the play could be shorter” is an extremely common critique of mine, but it applies.)

WINDFALL is a dialogue-heavy play. Fortunately, director Awoye Timpo’s ensemble of actors are fantastic. This is some of the best work I’ve seen from Arenas — she infuses a lot of humor into this tragic play, and she plays each of her roles with outsized fervor. Hill brings a dual sense of chill and frustration to his dual roles as Cori and a nurse. Steppenwolf Co-Artistic Director Glenn Davis is immensely affable as Marcus. Davis has a lively presence and brings a richness to the role, even though Marcus’s backstory isn’t fully elucidated in the text. Smallwood, always a welcome presence on the stage, lends his dual quiet fragility/ferocity to his protestor and police officer roles.

Of course, in many ways WINDFALL belongs to Mr. Mano — and Michael Potts is spectacular. Potts portrays Mr. Mano’s grief beautifully; he’s rather quiet throughout but makes entirely clear how much his world has been rocked by this loss. Potts also handles the side narrative about Mr. Mano’s struggle to understand Eli’s non-binary identity well. On paper, it leans a little didactic, but Potts plays it off authentically as a man trying to understand his youngest child while also trying to stare down his unfathomable grief.

It’s a testament to McCraney’s writing that WINDFALL deals with deeply serious and tragic subject matter but also has moments of humor and hope. Overall, it’s a really introspective and occasionally whimsical play. I appreciate that McCraney didn’t always treat the storyline literally — those moments of surrealism give WINDFALL a rhythm all its own. 

WINDFALL plays in the Ensemble Theater at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1646 North Halsted, through May 31, 2026. Tickets are $20-$148.50.

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