About thIS Show
A moving and enthralling world premiere about the enduring connection between a mother and her son.
Edna has suffered a number of losses as she has aged, and now faces the stealthy advance of cancer embodied by an intimate figure that she could do without. Home for a visit, Edna’s son Andrew is trying to bridge the gulf between the childhood love they shared and the aggressively polite but baffling relationship they now live with. Mother and son stumble toward honesty as they wrestle with the distractions-both mundane and profound—that keep us from real connection.
David Rabe is a Tony Award-winning playwright well-known for Streamers, Hurlyburly, Sticks and Bones and the Gift Theatre’s recent world premiere production of Good for Otto. Anna D. Shapiro is a Tony Award-winning director well-known for August: Osage County, The Motherf**ker with the Hat, Larry David’s Fish in the Dark, Of Mice and Men,and This Is Our Youth. She directed Steppenwolf's critically acclaimed world premiere of Mary Page Marlowe by Tracy Letts last season.
Content Advisory
Steppenwolf does not offer advisories about subject matter, as sensitivities vary from person to person. If you have any questions about content, age-appropriateness or stage effects(such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that might have a bearing on patron comfort, please contact the box office at 312-335-1650.
Watch & Listen
Cast & Artists
The Artists
- Author David Rabe
- Directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro
- Scenic Design David Zinn
- Costume Design Linda Roethke
- Lighting Design Marcus Doshi
- Sound Design Rob Milburn
- Company Vocal Coach Gigi Buffington
- Original Music Michael Bodeen
- Artistic Producer Jonathan Berry
- Casting Tam Dickson
- Stage Manager Christine D. Freeburg
- Dramaturg Polly Hubbard
Featured Ensemble Members
The Cast
Reviews
“A great American poet and dramatist…inestimably moving”
– Chicago Tribune
“Has a deeply searing power…beautifully agonizing depiction of spending time with a loved one who is dying”
– Variety
“A tragically funny and creative view into some of the things that distract us from considering the meaning of our lives”
– New City
“A punch in the gut to the viewer. It's not the “feel-good” play of the new theater season, but it figures to be one of the best”
– Daily Herald
Program Articles
Special Performances
Preview Performances:
September 15 - 24, 2016
ASL interpretation:
Sunday, October 16 at 7:30pm
Open-captioned:
Saturday, October 29 at 3pm
Audio-described and touch tour:
Sunday, October 30 at 1:30 touch tour, audio-described performance at 3pm
Sponsors
Lead Production Support
Major Production Support
Major support for Steppenwolf’s New Play Development Initiative is provided by The Davee Foundation and the Zell Family Foundation
Special Performances
Preview Performances:
September 15 - 24, 2016
ASL interpretation:
Sunday, October 16 at 7:30pm
Open-captioned:
Saturday, October 29 at 3pm
Audio-described and touch tour:
Sunday, October 30 at 1:30 touch tour, audio-described performance at 3pm
Sponsors
Lead Production Support
Major Production Support
Major support for Steppenwolf’s New Play Development Initiative is provided by The Davee Foundation and the Zell Family Foundation