The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust has been an important partner to Steppenwolf since 1985. In 2001, the Trust generously awarded us a three-year grant earmarked to support the development and production of new plays in each of our three performance venues. In its first year, the Trust’s grant helped us produce our world premiere musical, Sarah Schlesinger’s and Mike Reid’s The Ballad of Little Jo. Under the direction of ensemble member Tina Landau, this play earned tremendous acclaim from critics across the country. The Trust’s kind support also helped us present Man From Nebraska, by ensemble member Tracy Letts. This world premiere was named a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was named as one of Time’s “Best of 2003.” The Trust’s support enabled us to mount the world premiere of Bruce Norris’s Purple Heart, which featured ensemble member Laurie Metcalf. This project was particularly important for us because Bruce Norris is a significant new voice in American theater and the author of The Pain and the Itch directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro and featuring ensemble members Tracy Letts and Mariann Mayberry.
This year, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust is the Exclusive Production Sponsor of The Pain and the Itch. Steppenwolf salutes The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for their uncompromising support of new play development. It is only through the generosity of visionary funders such as this that Steppenwolf can remain at the forefront of theatrical innovation and continue to make important contributions to the national canon of theater arts.