Steppenwolf Replaces TOPDOG/UNDERDOG With THE DANCE OF DEATH in 50th Anniversary Season

Steppenwolf Theatre Company revealed updates to its upcoming 50th Anniversary Season. Due to artistic scheduling conflicts, the previously announced production of Topdog/Underdog will now shift to a future season. In its place, Steppenwolf is pleased to present Conor McPherson’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s master class in marital warfare The Dance of Death. Directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov, the production marks ensemble member Kathryn Erbe’s return to Steppenwolf after nearly three decades, joined by Steppenwolf co-founder and ensemble member Jeff Perry.

Steppenwolf is also thrilled to announce Tony Award-winning director Robert Falls will now helm its much-anticipated production of Amadeus, making his Steppenwolf directorial debut. Falls will step in for ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro, who is taking a leave from artistic projects for health reasons. This Oscar and Tony Award-winning masterpiece by Peter Shaffer will feature a powerhouse cast including ensemble members Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy and Yasen Peyankov, along with the newly announced addition of Karen Rodriguez.

Steppenwolf Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis comment, “On behalf of Anna and the entire ensemble, we are moved and honored to finally welcome Robert Falls for his Steppenwolf directing debut. Bob, who has worked with upwards of 20 of our company members over the years, has a career that has shaped and transformed the trajectory of Chicago’s theater community. It’s fitting, then, that his first (and long overdue) production at Steppenwolf is Amadeus: a timeless look at artistic ambition and genius. We know that our production is in the inventive and reliable hands of one of the all-time greats.” 

Davis and Francis add, “When it became clear that scheduling challenges had rendered our production of Topdog/Underdog impossible for the coming season, we were disheartened. Luckily, Steppenwolf is built around an ensemble teeming with inspiration and overflowing with ideas. This production of The Dance of Death is the product of that endlessly passionate ensemble, and we were immediately awed and excited by Yasen’s vision for this piece. What a pair of blessings: first, that Jeff Perry (one of our intrepid co-founders) will join the 50th Season; second, that we can simultaneously welcome ensemble member Kathryn Erbe back to Steppenwolf after nearly three decades. Shifting gears is always challenging, but having the collective passion of Steppenwolf’s artists at our backs is a reminder of the power of ensemble.” 

Steppenwolf’s 50th Anniversary Season features five Steppenwolf Membership Series productions: a world premiere, two Chicago premieres and two modern masterpieces – all emblematic of the five decades of bold, visceral and muscular work that has made the Chicago theater legendary. Ensemble members from across generations are coming back to their home on Halsted to celebrate the last fifty years and secure the launch of the next fifty. Steppenwolf also doubles down on its decades-long mission to immerse Chicago’s youth in the arts through its lauded educational initiatives – and provide much-needed artistic space for the city’s bustling community of multi-disciplinary artists, along with itinerant theatre companies.

Founded in the mid-1970s by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry and Terry Kinney in the basement of a suburban church, the ensemble has expanded to 49 celebrated artists – among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the industry. Productions launched from the theatre – from The Grapes of Wrath and August: Osage County ­– to Pass Over and Purpose – have earned the company accolades including the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards and two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions. More than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally and more than 130 world premieres have left an indelible mark on the American Theatre.

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