Namir Smallwood Archives - Chicago Reader

A group of six is seated around a round table on the left. The floor is inlaid wood. On the right, an older man is lying on a chaise lounge, while a younger man stands next to him, looking concerned.

Steppenwolf’s Seagull opens a lovely new space

by Kerry Reid May 11, 2022May 11, 2022

“Here is a theater. No curtain, no wings, no scenery. Just an empty space.” Konstantin Treplev, the young and hungry artist manqué in Anton Chekhov’s Seagull, intones these words before the disastrous and abortive premiere of his play-within-the-play for his family. But at the Saturday opening of ensemble member Yasen Peyankov’s production at Steppenwolf, it […]

Woman in cut-off denim shorts and purple sleeveless top sitting on unmade bed, looking at man in chair on the right in messy motel room

Theater Review

Bug captures our current malaise

by Kaylen Ralph November 18, 2021November 19, 2021

There was only one weekend left in Steppenwolf’s original production run of Bug when the theater announced it would be closing its doors to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on March 12, 2020. Twenty months later, the company has launched its “comeback” season with a second, complete revival run (once again directed by David Cromer) […]