Theatre News Wire

Steppenwolf Theatre opens its new in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell with the Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) world premiere adaptation of Eve L. Ewing's 1919, adapted by J. Nicole Brooks and directed by Gabrielle Randle-Bent and Tasia A. Jones, February 2 - March 6, 2022. 1919 is a bold, lyrical examination of the events surrounding the killing of 17-year-old Eugene Williams in treacherous waters off the segregated 1919 Lake Michigan shoreline, and the way those events reverberate in Chicago today. The cast for 1919 includes Sheldon Brown, Jessica Dean Turner, Lachrisa Grandberry, Victor Musoni, Max Thomas and Sola Thompson.

To ensure a wider audience can experience this groundbreaking production, Steppenwolf is expanding public performances for 1919 on weeknights and weekends to 24 total, along with weekday student matinees. This will provide an opportunity for intergenerational audiences to learn from and discuss this significant and painful moment in Chicago's past, at a time when all of America is reckoning with its history of racial injustice.

1919 is one of two productions inaugurating the Ensemble Theater this season; it is followed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Seagull featuring an intergenerational all-ensemble cast, April-June 2022.

"We are honored to bring this important work to the stage as part of our Steppenwolf for Young Adults series, and as the first production in our new Ensemble Theater," say Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis. "The curation of Steppenwolf for Young Adults is a priority in our programming. We approach SYA with great intentionality because it gives us the opportunity to collaborate with world-class creative teams while delivering stories to the next generation of leaders. Shows like 1919 are an opportunity to elevate the conversations we have with young people and intergenerational audiences, both within the theater and in the community."

Eve L. Ewing shares, "It feels surreal to know that this little book and the stories I tried to capture will find a new home on the stage, thanks to the incredible work of such an impressive and interdisciplinary group of artists. I can't wait for Chicagoans to have the opportunity to reflect on the events of the Red Summer in this new way, and as an educator I'm especially inspired and humbled to know that so many young people will have the chance to experience the production."

"To open our new theater with 1919, a Chicago story created by Chicago artists, and continue the celebration of our in-the-round space with Seagull brought to life by our multigenerational ensemble, is a beautiful representation of two shows in conversation about our present moment and where we hope to go," adds Francis.