Downstairs Theater

Located outside of the Downstairs Theater, the Steppenwolf lobby and bars open one hour prior to performance. We offer a range of refreshments, including a full bar with liquor, imported and domestic beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Fresh-brewed coffee is available at every performance. We also feature a variety of candies and cookies. Save time during intermission and pre-order your cocktails before the show!

In the Downstairs Theater, audiences have seen a string quartet seemingly float above the stage space (A Clockwork Orange), a street awash with rain (Three Days of Rain) and life-sized cars enter the space (I Just Stopped By to See the Man). Our audiences have seen characters cross a tow-bridge over the audience (Berlin Circle), descend into the grave (Everyman) and emerge from the voms beneath the audience (Hedda Gabler). Seminal productions such as August: Osage County, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Song of Jacob Zulu all began in the theater before moving to Broadway and around the world.

Co-productions with visiting companies have also presented in the Downstairs Theater, such as Wedding Band, produced with Congo Square Theatre Company, and Tennessee Williams' One Arm, presented by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, About Face Theatre and Tectonic Theater Project.