Steppenwolf Theatre Company

History

Founding

The name Steppenwolf Theatre Company was first used in 1974 at a Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield. The company presented And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little by Paul Zindel, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, with Rick Argosh directing, and Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, with Gary Sinise directing.

The founding members are Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise. The founders recruited six additional members: H. E. Baccus, Nancy Evans, Moira Harris, John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, and Alan Wilder.

1975–1990

In 1975, Steppenwolf incorporated as a nonprofit organization, saving money by taking the name of a failed theatre company that had already incorporated. In the summer of 1976, Steppenwolf took up residence in a vacant basement space of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Highland Park, Illinois and produced its first full season of plays.

In 1980, the theatre company moved into a 134-seat theatre at the Jane Addams Hull House Center on Broadway Avenue in Chicago. Two years later, the company moved to a 211-seat facility at 2851 N. Halsted Street, which was their home until 1991, when construction was completed on the current theatre complex at 1650 N. Halsted Street (with administrative offices at 1700 N. Halsted Street.) The theatre has three theatres: the Downstairs Theatre that seats 515; the Upstairs Theatre that seats 299; and, the 1700 Theatre, a casual, intimate and flexible theatre that seats 80.

In 1982, the Sam Shepard play True West, starring Sinise and John Malkovich, was the first of many Steppenwolf productions to travel to New York City.

1990–present

In 1994, the company made its Los Angeles debut with Steve Martin's first play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

In 1996, after successful runs in Chicago and New York, Lyle Kessler's Orphans, directed by Gary Sinise, was the first Steppenwolf production to go international, debuting in London.

The MacArthur Foundation awarded Steppenwolf Theatre Company $2.26 million between 1978 and 2017, in support of general operations, and growth of artistic and educational programs.

In 2019, True West opened again at Steppenwolf, for the first time in 37 years, with Namir Smallwood and Jon Michael Hill as the leads and the direction of Randall Arney.

Ensemble

Steppenwolf is an ensemble cast theatre company with actors, playwrights, producers, and directors in its membership. Notable past and present ensemble members include:

• Joan Allen
• Kevin Anderson
• Alana Arenas
• Randall Arney
• Kate Arrington
• H. E. Baccus (original member)
• Ian Barford
• Robert Breuler
• Cliff Chamberlain
• Gary Cole
• Carrie Coon
• Celeste M. Cooper
• Glenn Davis
• Kathryn Erbe
• Nancy Evans (original member)
• Jim Fitzpatrick
• Audrey Francis
• K. Todd Freeman
• Frank Galati
• Francis Guinan
• Moira Harris (original member)
• Glenne Headly
• Jon Michael Hill
• Tim Hopper
• Tom Irwin
• Ora Jones
• Rajiv Joseph
• Terry Kinney (Founder)
• Tina Landau
• Martha Lavey
• Tracy Letts
• John Mahoney
• John Malkovich (original member)
• Sandra Marquez
• Mariann Mayberry
• James Vincent Meredith
• Tarell Alvin McCraney
• Laurie Metcalf (original member)
• Amy Morton
• Sally Murphy
• Caroline Neff
• Bruce Norris
• Austin Pendleton
• Jeff Perry (Founder)
• William Petersen
• Martha Plimpton
• Rondi Reed
• Molly Regan
• Karen Rodriguez
• Anna D. Shapiro
• Eric Simonson
• Gary Sinise (Founder)
• Namir Smallwood
• Rick Snyder
• Lois Smith
• Jim True-Frost
• Alan Wilder (original member)

Productions

Notable productions include:

• Airline Highway by Lisa D'Amour
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee (Starring Tracy Letts and Amy Morton)
• Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
• August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
• True West by Sam Shepard
• Lydie Breeze directed by H.E. Baccus
• Balm in Gilead by Lanford Wilson, directed by John Malkovich
• And a Nightingale Sang by C. P. Taylor
• Orphans by Lyle Kessler
• Coyote Ugly (1985) by Lynn Seifert, directed by John Malkovich
• Burn This by Lanford Wilson
• The Grapes of Wrath adapted by company member Frank Galati
• King James by company member Rajiv Joseph
• Purpose by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins

Critical reception

Through its New Plays Initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence while continuing to support the work of aspiring and mid-career playwrights. In 1988, Steppenwolf presented the world premiere of Frank Galati's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, based on the John Steinbeck novel, which eventually went on to win the Tony Award for Best Play. In 2000, Steppenwolf presented the world premiere of Austin Pendleton's Orson's Shadow, which subsequently was staged off-Broadway and by regional theatres throughout the country.

Tracy Letts' Broadway drama August: Osage County (2007) was ranked number one in Time's Top Ten Theatre Performances of 2007. After moving from the Imperial Theatre next door to The Music Box Theatre for an open-ended run, August: Osage County won five Tony Awards including Best Play of 2007, Best Director (Anna D. Shapiro), Best Leading Actress (Deanna Dunagan), Best Featured Actress (Rondi Reed), and Best Scenic Design (Todd Rosenthal). Letts went on to win the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play.

Among the theatre's many honours are the Tony Award for Regional Theatre Excellence (1985) and the National Medal of Arts (1998).

References

References

1. (2000). "Steppenwolf @ Twenty-Five". Steppenwolf Theater Company.
2. "History". Steppenwolf Theatre.
3. Jones, Chris. (October 2, 2014). "At Steppenwolf, Shapiro takes over from Martha Lavey".
4. (February 28, 1991). "CURTAIN UP".
5. Freedman, Samuel G.. (1985-06-03). "'BILOXI' AND 'BIG RIVER' WIN TOP TONY AWARDS". The New York Times.
6. Mayer, John. (August 11, 2016). "Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago: In Their Own Words". Bloomsbury Publishing.
7. "Rentals - NSUC".
8. (January 15, 2018). "Episode 881 - Laurie Metcalf / Tom Segura".
9. "Barbara Patterson". Steppenwolf Theatre.
10. "Rick Argosh". Steppenwolf Theatre.
11. "Q. Riding on the Ravenswood train past the vertical...".
12. "Leslie Wilson". Steppenwolf Theatre.
13. "Grease". Steppenwolf Theatre.
14. "H.E. Baccus theatre profile". AboutTheArtists.com.
15. "Timeline". Steppenwolf Theatre.
16. Andries, Dorothy. "'Steppenwolf' author visits Highland Park Library".
17. (February 21, 2018). "Laurie Metcalf Was Hiding in Plain Sight". The New York Times.
18. "Contact Us". Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
19. Liebenson, Donald. (August 17, 2016). "How Chicago's Famed Steppenwolf Became the Apple of Theater". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
20. Mayer, John. (August 11, 2016). "Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago: In Their Own Words". Bloomsbury Publishing.
21. [https://www.steppenwolf.org/plan-your-visit/theaters/ Theatres - Steppenwolf website]
22. (July 15, 2019). "'True West' is back at Steppenwolf, wrestling with the ghosts of Malkovich, Sinise and Shepard".
23. (October 25, 1994). "STEPPENWOLF GIVEN A WARM WELCOME IN ITS L.A. DEBUT".
24. "No Dead End Ahead! How Lyle Kessler's Orphans Grew Into a Modern Fable & Found a Home on Broadway".
25. "Steppenwolf Theatre Company — MacArthur Foundation". [[MacArthur Foundation]].
26. "Ensemble". Steppenwolf Theatre.
27. Martin Banham -The Cambridge Guide to Theatre 1995 – Page 1035 Notable productions include True West, Balm in Gilead, And a Nightingale Sang, Orphans, Coyote Ugly, Burn This, and company member Frank Galati's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. ...
28. "H.E. Baccus theatre profile".
29. (July 15, 1985). "Steppenwolf Theater's 10-Year Climb to Success". The New York Times.
30. "''Coyote Ugly''". Dramatists Play Service.
31. (December 19, 1996). "Seifert Unveils Little Egypt in Milwaukee Dec. 19". [[Playbill (magazine).
32. Siefert, Lynn. (January 30, 1986). "Coyote Ugly". Dramatists Play Service Inc.
33. Arkatov, Janice. (December 3, 1995). "The Unlikeliest of Love Stories : Playwright Lynn Siefert focuses on the brave hearts of bruised characters. Maybe that's why Roseanne picked her for 'AbFab.'". Los Angeles Times.
34. (April 1985). "'Coyote Ugly' Runs Wild And Crazy". chicago tribune.
35. Best Plays 1983–1984 – Page 59 Otis L. Guernsey – 1989 "Coyote Ugly by Lynn Seifert (San Francisco: Berkeley Stage) — The slightly outrageous story of a hard bitten, depraved family living in the Arizona desert unfolds in the crackling, wild dialogue of this young wild dialogue of this young playwright who was runner- up in the Susan Smith Blackburn competition for women playwrights in 1984."
36. Current Biography Yearbook – Volume 49 1989 – Page 355 "After reprising Biff for a taped CBS television version of Death of a Salesman, Malkovich returned to Chicago in March 1985 to direct Lynn Seifert's Coyote Ugly at the Steppenwolf Theatre. "
37. Richard Zoglin. (December 9, 2007). "Top 10 Theater Productions".