Windfall Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Here, though, we have the work of a gifted poet wrestling with problems so large as to have not yet fully found a clear theatrical roadmap through them; I mean, who has? That said, I’m always up for a McCraney trip, because he creates the most fabulous fellow travelers, empowers them with the most beautiful language and always conveys that his heart is in the right place."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...In “Windfall,” tyrannical viciousness screams to the surface. But so does a scrim of fantastical protections: ancestral, spiritual and familial. Tinges of the supernatural aside, “Windfall” is deeply rooted in a story that’s been repeated more times than anyone will ever be able to count: This time around, it’s singing while Black that’ll get you shot."

Daily Herald - Highly Recommended

"...In “Windfall,” a provocative new drama running through May 31 at Steppenwolf Theatre, playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney examines the value of a life through an all-too-common tragedy: a police shooting of a young Black person and the government’s attempt to ease a father’s grief with a cash settlement."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...But rather than a stark documentary story, McCraney's play nimbly combines music, ghosts, satirical social commentary, and a family drama. In other words, McCraney has done what he's always done so well: surprised us by making us see the familiar in a new light-one richly suffused with love and empathy as well as generational pain."

Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended

"...Michael Potts is both charismatic and heartbreaking as Mano. His performance commands the audience's attention and never relinquishes it. From the first moment he enters, carefully and desperately dictating a text to Eli, begging them to come home so the two of them can work things out, to the blend of aching remorse and building fury in his final monologue, Potts breathes painful, hopeful life into the character."

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Steppenwolf's excellent 50th season continues with Windfall, the new play by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight). Performed in the Ensemble Theatre, Andrew Boyce's scenic design eschews a traditional set almost entirely. The performance space is a simple raised platform. There's a bench and a gardener's rack-and nothing else. Hand-inked protest posters are mounted throughout the space, but look closely and, among them, are advertisements for guitar lessons and other neighborhood services, posters with rap lyrics, as well as self-help bromides."

Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...It is an inspiring exploration of how a resilient community confronts the challenges of grief while navigating the tempting appeal of the almighty dollar as they strive for true justice. It's a captivating, visually stunning drama that demands your attention—an experience you won't want to miss."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...How much is a child worth? That is a question that is the subject matter for Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “Windfall” now on stage in the Arena Style theater at Steppenwolf called “The Ensemble Theatre”. The seating in this venue makes it perfect for great sight lines, as the seats go from even with the stage and rise towards what is called the second floor. Part of having a theater like this is the limited set one can create to bring the illusions to light."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Steppenwolf World Premiere of WINDFALL is a powerfully poignant play that’s as topical as it is entertaining. But be warned: this isn’t one of those typical plays where the audience sits back in his seat as a mere spectator. Theatergoers will find themselves leaning into the production and often participating with the characters. The audience is encouraged to clap, snap, sing and chant along with the characters on stage, giving each theatergoer the opportunity to personally engage with and become a part of the cast. But there is one thing that’s certain: Tarell Alvin McCraney’s new drama that pits political activism with materialistic capitalism is one theatrical experience that audiences won’t soon forget."

The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended

"...Mr. Mano has lost a child. Although the City offers no explanation, apology or condolences, they are prepared to pay a settlement. As Mr. Mano continues to resist, his son Marcus forcefully advocates for taking the money. Marcus even tries to rally the audience to his side. His argument rooted in capitalism and power is persuasive. Mr. Mano’s response seems to be steeped in guilt. He doesn’t want to give up on another child. And also he doesn’t seem swayed by a dead person’s advice."

Third Coast Review - Recommended

"...Does money buy justice for Black lives lost? In Windfall, his world premiere play commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre, Tarell Alvin McCraney asks us to consider this question. Director Awoye Timpo casts a starry crew of four Steppenwolf ensemble members, plus two newcomers—Michael Potts and Esco Jouley—who bring real power to telling this story, set in Chicago."

Chicago Theater and Arts - Recommended

"...Directed by Awoye Timpo each member of this talented Steppenwolf ensemble put in strong performances led by Potts who sets the emotional tone and rhythm of the story that revolves around his struggle."

MaraTapp.org - Highly Recommended

"...What a thrill to have Tarell Alvin McCraney back in Chicago with his incandescent new play on Steppenwolf's stage. Long a star in our city's dramatic galaxy, his works have staying power. I remain enraptured by Steppenwolf's 2010 production of The Brother/Sister Plays, McCraney's decade-spanning trilogy that explores life in the Louisiana Bayou, West African mythology and ends with a hurricane. His Choir Boy about a young Black student navigating his role in a prestigious school, and Ms. Blakk for President, an homage to a Chicago drag queen that McCraney starred in and co-authored with Tina Landau, still occupy my thoughts. This playwright's range is stunning and his works are connected by his lyrical yet realistic dialog, as well as the brilliance of his plots and characters."

Curtain Call Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Michael Potts (playing Henri “Mr. Mano” Tamano) gives the production its emotional and parental anchor, performed both with power and a careful and even remarkable restraint. His performance is a contained pressure at first, perhaps better described as a compressed pain, something nearly unendurable, but ultimately released into a full moment of reckoning. Potts never asks for sympathy; but he earns it with a powerful portrayal of a father’s anguish."

Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended

"...The energy was raw, unsettled, in need of justice and healing in the face of police-state tactics and the exploitative forces of late-stage capitalism on an unreasoning quest to grind most everyone down, especially the already down and out."

Splash Magazine - Recommended

"...WINDFALL pits the strength of one solid man, Michael Potts as Mr. Mano, a middle-class homeowner, against the City of Chicago, embodied by Alana Aranas in 3 different approaches to the same role. Mano’s non-binary child, now called Eli, played by Jouléy, has been shot while performing in a trio of generic folksingers in the park. Aranas is all parts in a triad of emissaries of the City, looking to pay him off, using multiple wiles, threats of eviction, flirtation, feigned innocence, in fact any argument at all to get him to take the money."

Werner's Theatre Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...The world premiere of Windfall opened at Steppenwolf Theatre on April 19, 2026. Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney-known for The Brother/Sister Plays and the Oscar-winning film Moonlight-continues his focus on Black identity, activism, and social justice. Windfall offers an experience blending emotion, humor, and reflection, ultimately inviting audiences into a larger conversation."

BroadwayWorld - Recommended

"...It’s a testament to McCraney’s writing that WINDFALL deals with deeply serious and tragic subject matter but also has moments of humor and hope. Overall, it’s a really introspective and occasionally whimsical play. I appreciate that McCraney didn’t always treat the storyline literally — those moments of surrealism give WINDFALL a rhythm all its own."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...At the center of this moving and sometimes darkly funny story are six actors. Arenas, Davis, Jouléy, Potts, Jon Michael Hill as Nurse/Cori, and Namir Smallwood as Officer/Brother 1. Each and every one of them illuminates the stage brighter than the sea of phone flashlights the characters request near the top of the show."