Chicago—Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Lost Land by Stephen Jeffreys, directed by Terry Johnson, featuring ensemble members Martha Lavey, John Malkovich and Yasen Peyankov, with Ian Barford and Katrina Lenk. John Malkovich and Ana Kuzmanic serve as costume designers for Lost Land, which begins performances on March 31, 2005, in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted. The Sara Lee Foundation is the Exclusive Production Sponsor of Lost Land and the Exclusive Inaugural Sponsor of the Steppenwolf Ensemble Initiative. Lost Land is set in a remote castle in the wine-growing region of northern Hungary, where a mysterious delegate (Peyankov) arrives to persuade a beloved, retired politician (Malkovich) to leave the castle tended by his sister (Lavey) and claim the reins of power. Set at the end of World War I, when the nation is on the verge of collapse, Lost Land confronts the ideas of statehood and personal obligation with sharp humor and intrigue. "Lost Land continues a long-standing collaboration amongst many artists at Steppenwolf," comments Lost Land actor and Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey. "To have John Malkovich as an actor and as the instigating force of a production that attracts Stephen Jeffreys and Terry Johnson, a top-flight design team and ensemble actors is the gift we enjoy as a theater company founded by actors and now approaching our 30th year together." John Malkovich most recently worked at Steppenwolf as the director of Hysteria by Terry Johnson (the adaptor/director of Broadway’s The Graduate and the upcoming Hitchcock Blonde), which featured Yasen Peyankov as Sigmund Freud. Malkovich last appeared as an actor at Steppenwolf in Johnson’s direction of Stephen Jeffreys’ The Libertine, a play about the infamous Earl of Rochester. Jeffreys’ forthcoming film adaptation of The Libertine, directed by Laurence Dunmore, features Malkovich, Johnny Depp and Samantha Morton. Jeffreys’ play I Just Stopped By to See the Man received its American premiere at Steppenwolf in 2002. Martha Lavey, Steppenwolf’s Artistic Director since 1995, most recently appeared at Steppenwolf in I Never Sang For My Father with fellow ensemble members Kevin Anderson and John Mahoney. Yasen Peyankov currently appears in ensemble member Tina Landau’s acclaimed staging of Cherry Orchard and appeared in last summer’s production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune with ensemble member Laurie Metcalf. Ian Barford recently appeared in Take Me Out, directed by ensemble member Randall Arney at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, and has performed in many Steppenwolf productions, such as The Libertine, As I Lay Dying and Time of My Life. New to the Steppenwolf stage, Katrina Lenk previously appeared in Chicago in the Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol and as Yitzak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Also featured in the cast are Katie R. Foster, Christopher LaBove, Max Grilly and Isabel Guzmán-Barrón. The designers of Lost Land are James Schuette (sets), John Malkovich and Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Scott Zielinski (lights), Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound). The stage manager is Malcolm Ewen and the assistant stage manager is Alison Ramsey. Edward Sobel is the production dramaturg. Previews for Lost Land are March 31-April 8, 2005. The production opens Sunday, April 10, 2005, at 6:00 p.m., and runs through June 5, 2005. Please note that the performance on April 9, 2005 (Annual Gala) is sold out. Curtain times are: Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday matinees on May 18, 25 and June 1, 2005, at 2:00 p.m. There will be no Sunday evening performances on May 22, 29 and June 5, 2005. The performance on May 4, 2005, will be sign language interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing. The performance on May 5, 2005, will be audio-described for the blind and sight impaired. Free post-show discussions presented by Artistic Director Martha Lavey and Associate Artistic Director Curt Columbus will be held after the Wednesday matinee performances. Post-show discussions with the cast and artistic staff are held Tuesdays and Thursdays during the regular run. This project was commissioned and developed through Steppenwolf's New Play Initiative. Steppenwolf gratefully acknowledges its 2004-2005 season sponsors: Premier Benefactors—Ogilvy & Mather, Inc., and Sara Lee Foundation; Grand Benefactors—American Express, Bank One, The Shubert Foundation, Inc., the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and United Airlines; Benefactors—Deloitte, Lord, Bissell & Brook, LLP, and Vinci. Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s programs are partially supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency grant and by a CityArts Program 4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Steppenwolf’s New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Vince Club Family Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, and support from the members of the Directors Circle. Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through ongoing group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of thirty-five artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.
Notes of Interest • Ensemble member John Malkovich was last seen at Steppenwolf as the director of Hysteria, written by Terry Johnson. Prior to that he appeared on the Steppenwolf stage in Terry Johnson's direction of Stephen Jeffreys' The Libertine. Jeffreys' Lost Land will mark another notable collaboration among these artists. • Kristóf, the retired government official of Lost Land, played by John Malkovich, is ripped from his serene and secluded life in order to serve Hungary in the final moments of WWI. Playwright Stephen Jeffreys based this fictional character on the historical circumstances of Michael Karolyi, an exiled count so disturbed by the tumult of Hungary that he returned to politics in 1919. • Steppenwolf's Annual Gala will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2005. The star-studded event, which has a tradition of raising well over $1 million for Steppenwolf Theatre Company, combines cutting edge theater with cocktails, dining, dancing, a celebrity "Star with the Stars" live auction and entertainment by Steppenwolf co-founder Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band.