Theatre News Wire

Steppenwolf Theatre will continue its 48th season with the Chicago premiere of Larissa FastHorse's The Thanksgiving Play, a biting comedy about everything right, wrong and woke in America, directed by Jess McLeod. The Thanksgiving Play will play April 25 - June 2, 2024 in Steppenwolf's in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. 

The Thanksgiving Play will feature ensemble members Audrey Francis (POTUS - Director, The Doppelgänger) and Tim Hopper (Downstate, Chicago, Off-Broadway & London) with Paloma Nozicka (Steppenwolf debut) and Nate Santana (Ironbound).

Four (very) well-intentioned theatre people walk into an elementary school. The work at hand: a Thanksgiving pageant that won't ruffle any feathers. What could possibly go wrong? In MacArthur Genius Larissa Fasthorse's skewering and satirical comedy, well, just about everything. Rambunctious, thorny and not altogether politically correct, The Thanksgiving Play serves up the hypocrisies of woke America on a big, family-style platter. Come get ya some.

The genesis of The Thanksgiving Play can be traced back to Ireland, where Larissa FastHorse embarked on its creation in 2015 as the recipient of the Joe Dowling Annaghmakerrig Fellowship. While residing at Tyrone Guthrie's estate, she began penning the play, which subsequently underwent readings and workshops at various prestigious venues.

It journeyed through stages at U.C. Berkeley, the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon, and was even featured in the fall Play Lab at Center Stage in Baltimore, Maryland. Following its world premiere at the Artists Repertory Theatre, the play had its California debut at Capital Stage in Sacramento, CA, before gracing off-Broadway stages at Playwrights Horizons in New York City in 2018. The journey continued with additional workshops and productions in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

In a remarkable turn of events, The Thanksgiving Play made its Broadway debut in 2023 at the Hayes Theater, under the skillful direction of Rachel Chavkin. The stellar cast, including Katie Finneran, Scott Foley, D'Arcy Carden, and Chris Sullivan, brought the play to life. This milestone not only marked the play's Broadway arrival but also etched Larissa FastHorse's name in history as the first female Native American playwright to grace the Broadway stage.

At its core, The Thanksgiving Play delves into the endeavors of four white individuals striving to craft a politically correct First Thanksgiving play in honor of Native American Heritage Month, to be performed in schools. In their pursuit, they enlist the guidance of a Native American actor to navigate the cultural landscape. However, as the plot unfolds, they uncover that their hired actor is, in fact, white and primarily portrays Native American roles when not embodying other ethnicities. The play masterfully explores themes of privilege, historical accuracy, and the intricate challenges faced by its protagonists.

The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (Scenic Design), Raquel Adorno (Costume Design), Keith Parham (Lighting Design), Tosin Olufolabi (Sound Design), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Elise Hausken (Production Manager), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Christine D. Freeburg (Production Stage Manager) and Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager).