Ensemble member Shapiro, who recently helmed Larry David's Fish in the Dark, will direct a cast of 17 in the new Letts play, with casting to be announced in later months. As previously announced, she is also set to become Steppenwolf's new artistic director at the start of the 2015-16 season.
The company has also announced the cast for the first show of the 40th anniversary season, Frank Galati's adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, to be directed by Terry Kinney. The cast will feature Kate Arrington, Francis Guinan, Tim Hopper, Alan Wilder, Casey Thomas Brown, Aaron Himelstein, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Stephen Park, Brittany Uomoleale and Dan Waller. The show is a reunion for Guinan, Hopper, Wilder and Kinney, who appeared in Galati's critically acclaimed and Tony-winning The Grapes of Wrath. Performances will begin Sept. 17 and continue through Nov. 15.
Details of the new season are below:
World premiere of East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Adapted by Frank Galati, directed by Terry Kinney
Sept. 17-Nov. 15
From the Tony-winning adaptor of Steppenwolf's production of The Grapes of Wrath, Galati will bring Steinbeck's classic story to the stage for the first time. Set in California's Salinas Valley, East of Eden follows Adam on a journey to escape his turbulent past, asking if it is ever truly possible to avoid the consequences of previous generations.
Chicago premiere of Domesticated
Written and directed by Bruce Norris
Dec. 3, 2015-Feb. 7, 2016
From the Pulitzer-winning writer of The Qualms and Clybourne Park, Norris' wickedly funny and entertaining comedy explores gender politics, sex and modern marriage. Chicago premiere of The Flick by Annie Baker
Directed by Dexter Bullard
Feb. 4-May 8, 2016
Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize, Baker's play premiered Off-Broadway in 2013 to critical acclaim. The story centers on three underpaid employees working at a run-down movie house. Their impassioned debates about cinema lead to a friendship that will ultimately reveal the human desire for authentic connection.
World premiere of Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts
March 31-May 29, 2016
The latest play from the award-winning playwright is billed as an intimate portrait of a surprisingly complicated woman who's led a seemingly ordinary life: Mary an accountant from Ohio. According to press notes, "Intimate and moving, Mary Page Marlowe shows us how circumstance, impulse and time can combine to make us mysteries…even to ourselves."
Chicago premiere of Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Yasen Peyankov
June 23-Aug. 21, 2016
Playing Off-Broadway to critical acclaim and the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Between Riverside and Crazy tells the story of ex-cop "Pops" holding on to one of the last great rent stabilized apartments in Manhattan. A rowdy, dark comedy explores issues of family, justice and human freedom.
For more information, visit steppenwolf.org.
