Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago

Steppenwolf Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis and Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan, announced its 50th Anniversary Season, celebrating 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. The 50th Season features five Steppenwolf Membership Series productions: a world premiere, two Chicago premieres and two modern masterpieces - all emblematic of Steppenwolf's indelible impression on the American Theatre. 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.

Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago

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 and 12 Tony Awards. 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.

Steppenwolf Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis comment, "The cornerstone of Steppenwolf is its ensemble - generations of bold, irreverent, unapologetic artists who traffic in courage and relentless authenticity. Every play we programmed this season deals with generational tension, collision and the fight to belong. They explore what happens when your version of home changes, when life doesn't turn out the way it was supposed to and what it means to be radically accepted... or not. Every story ruthlessly interrogates generations of family, the joy and pain that change brings and the ongoing struggle to maintain one's identity, value and worth within their tribe."

Davis and Francis add, "Our 50th season challenges our ensemble members in ways we don't always get to be challenged. And while we've never shied away from challenge, we still feel a fresh rush of adrenaline when we take risks that come with no guarantees. So, the best way for us to honor Steppenwolf, and the artists who call this place home, is to create with courage and bring all of ourselves to the work - just like we have for the last fifty years and will for the next fifty."

Raising the curtain on Steppenwolf's 50th Season, ensemble member K. Todd Freeman returns to his creative home to direct the Chicago premiere of ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's unflinching family drama Mr. Wolf, featuring ensemble members Kate Arrington, Tim Hopper, James Vincent Meredith and Caroline Neff. The 2025/26 Season continues with Peter Shaffer's Oscar and Tony Award-winning masterpiece Amadeus, directed by Tony Award-winning ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro and stacked with an ensemble cast including Ian Barford, Robert Breuler, K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan, Sally Murphy and Yasen Peyankov. Up next, Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog returns to the Steppenwolf stage more than two decades after the company's celebrated 2003 production. Helmed by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood go head-to-head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride. In the spring of 2026, Steppenwolf continues its tradition of bringing new works to the American theatre canon with the world premiere of Windfall by Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney. Directed by Awoye Timpo, this highly-anticipated collaboration features ensemble members Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis and Jon Michael Hill. The 50th season concludes with Mia Chung's wildly inventive Chicago premiere of Catch as Catch Can, directed by celebrated ensemble member Amy Morton. The all-ensemble cast includes Gary Cole, Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper.

Steppenwolf Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan comments, "As we prepare to celebrate a half century of Steppenwolf's provocative contributions to the American Theatre, our work has been simultaneously activating stages in Chicago with Fool for Love, Los Angeles with our co-production of Noises Off at the Geffen Playhouse and New York with the highly-anticipated Broadway premiere of Purpose. As a cultural citizen for Chicago, this is an extraordinary accomplishment. It is also a reminder of the important role that audiences and donors play in the collective stewardship for our world-class theater.

Flanagan adds, "Five generations of support for the theater has culminated in Steppenwolf at 50. Steppenwolf at 50 is a celebration of our 49 ensemble members and their prolific body of work. Steppenwolf at 50 is a bustling artistic home with three stages brimming with creativity and robust teen-centered programs. Steppenwolf at 50 is a creative incubator for the reimagination of extant work and creation of new plays by artists of our time. Steppenwolf at 50 is a steward for the broader cultural landscape through the presentation of artists across disciplines. We invite audiences to join us for this extraordinary collection of plays and are grateful for the investment of time and treasure from our Board and donors that fuels our mission."