Review: YOU WILL GET SICK at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Noah Diaz’s YOU WILL GET SICK is an affecting and unusual play. With direction from Steppenwolf Co-Artistic Director Audrey Francis, it closes out the season in a moving and intriguing manner. The “will” in the play’s title is pivotal to the proceedings — the central character, identified only in the script as “#1,” has an unnamed degenerative disease. Although #1’s experience with his body’s failings is paramount, Diaz doesn’t explore sickness through the lens of blood or body horror. 

YOU WILL GET SICK is  an experimental play, but in the best possible way. It has a unique presentation format, but Diaz’s storytelling still has a clear narrative structure. Part of the wonder — and sadness — exists in the way it unfolds. An unseen, omniscient narrator (#5 in the script and played by Jordan Arredondo, in a stirring and gentle performance from offstage) oversees the action. He narrates #1’s experience on a God mike. Instead of feeling redundant, this ever-present narration underscores #1’s out-of-body sensations as his illness takes over. It’s a profound and engaging presentational style — When #1 fails to put into words what he’s going through, the narrator makes it clear.

#1 has another unusual companion on his journey through illness: Identified in the script as #2, Callan and #1 first meet as strangers. She responds to an ad #1 places on a telephone pole asking for someone to call him, so he can practice breaking the news that he’s sick. #1 has a hard time speaking the words “I got sick” aloud, and he wants to use Callan for practice.

Diaz has beautifully written this relationship. Strangers-to-friends is a tough dynamic in any play, particularly one which deals with mortality and illness. It also helps that Namir Smallwood and Amy Morton essay the roles of #1 and #2. This role is such a magnificent vehicle for Smallwood’s gentleness. I’ve always admired Smallwood’s ability to communicate quiet ferocity on stage. His #1 is angry and confused and devastated, but he never screams or shouts. Instead, Smallwood communicates agony through subtle body movements and gently delivered musings...but he makes us feel all of it. Morton is equally captivating as a (terrible) aspiring actor who dreams of playing Dorothy in a community theater production of THE WIZARD OF OZ.

The Oz imagery becomes integral to the play, and the metaphor of “home” is key to #1’s experience. The play also exists in an Oz-like place — the script names it as “The Big City” and it seems NYC-adjacent, but more mythical...and it has ominous crows everywhere, instead of pigeons (Andrew Boyce’s set is a wonder and has a few key surprises). 

Sadieh Rifai is compelling as #1’s self-involved sister Polly (the script names her as actor #3), even if she’s wildly frustrating. Rifai is also enjoyable in other roles, including a wacky acting teacher. Cliff Chamberlain rounds out the ensemble as #4, shifting gamely through a few different parts. 

YOU WILL GET SICK is enthralling and touching. #1’s degenerative illness is a mystery but so is the play’s world building. Smallwood and Morton have a deeply moving connection; as unlikely companions, they forge a special bond. The two actors clearly have an immense amount of trust, and it’s plain to see as they navigate the deepening of their onstage relationship. 

YOU WILL GET SICK is a unique, sad, and poignant interpretation of a hero’s journey home. I cried at the end. This play not only got my gears turning as I wondered at its captivating and original storytelling method, but it’s also purely and deeply emotional. With Smallwood and Morton at the helm, Francis’s ensemble here at Steppenwolf ensures every moment is deeply felt. 

YOU WILL GET SICK plays the Downstairs Theater at Steppenwolf, 1650 North Halsted, through July 20, 2025. Tickets start at $20.

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