Synopsis
In 1995, Haruki Murakami, one of Japan’s most highly regarded novelists, returned to his hometown of Kobe after a disastrous earthquake nearly destroyed the entire city. after the quake, the collection of short stories inspired by this event, measures the aftershocks in personal lives after a catastrophe. Ensemble member Frank Galati, whose Steppenwolf literary adaptations include the Tony Award-winning The Grapes of Wrath, directs this fantastical world premiere in the Upstairs Theatre.Running Time
Content Advisory
Watch & Listen
Cast & Artists
The Artists
- Costume Design: Mara Blumenfeld
- Stage Manager: Malcolm Ewen
- Directed by: ensemble member Frank Galati
- Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls
- Sound Design: Andre Pluess
- Scenic Design: James Schuette
- Sound Design: Ben Sussman
- Assistant Stage Manager: Christine D. Freeburg
- Casting Director: Erica Daniels
- Assistant to the Director: Narciso Lobo
- Assistant Lighting Designer: Keith Parham
- Assistant Sound Designer: Rick Sims
- Scenic Artists: Scott Gerwitz (charge), Julie Ruscitti
- Child Supervisor: Lisa Primer
- Sound Operator: Gaulo Amezcua
- Light Board Operator: Tyler Packett
- Running Crew: Chad Kenward
- Stage Management Apprentice: Kathleen Petroziello
- Musical Arrangements: Andre Pluess, Jason McDermott and Jeff Wichmann
Featured Ensemble Members
Reviews
- Chicago Sun-Times
"**** (out of 4). Spellbinding!"
- Copley News
"Galati's captivating adaptation reinvents storytelling."
- Chicago Free Press
"The play has a startingly timely resonance...a beautifully understated Asian-Japanese quality."
- Singapore Business Times
"The outstanding achievement here is Galati's adaptation: it manages to retain Murakami's lyricism...while bringing it to mesmerizing life for the stage."
- Windy City Times
"Galati--who marries theater and storytelling in the form of lively, descriptive narration--expertly integrates both tales."
- Daily Herald
"after the quake is rare: a comfortable play to watch but a haunting one to remember."
- TimeOut Chicago
Program Articles
Martha Lavey and Frank Galati discuss the scale and scope of novelist Haruki Murakami's work.
Jay Rubin is an accomplished English translator of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles and after the quake, which has been adapted and directed for the stage by ensemble member Frank Galati, currently running in the Upstairs Theatre until February 19, 2006.
When he stages a piece of literature, the audience is taken on a rare journey inside of the story. So when Backstage asked Frank Galati to discuss his adaptation of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s after the quake, we knew that he’d have an intense and unique view on this particular literary master. We just needed to sit back and listen. And we were right...
Artistic Director Martha Lavey converses about the relevance and themes of Frank Galati's adaptation of Haruki Murakami's works.
After their first day of rehearsal on Tuesday, September 20th, ensemble member Frank Galati and the cast of after the quake were welcomed at a private reception by members of Steppenwolf’s Directors Circle.
The Boeing Company is once again playing a distinguished role at Steppenwolf Theatre Company as the Exclusive Corporate Production Sponsor of after the quake.
The son of a Buddhist priest and a Japanese literature teacher, Haruki Murakami’s stories are driven by the senses and by complex thematic imagery which subtly connects his stories in unexpected ways. Here’s a primer for the strange and beautiful world of Murakami
Martha Lavey, Steppenwolf's Artistic Director, reflects on the theatre's thirty years of growth and the process behind presenting a groundbreaking anniversary season.