Steppenwolf Theatre will mount two new plays, one British and one American, as part of its upcoming five-play offering, the company`s first full season in its new home at 1650 N. Halsted St.
Ron Wooden`s ”Your Home in the West,” about a severely dysfunctional working class family, described as ”Sam Shepard meets David Mamet in Newcastle,” will open the season Oct. 6 to Nov. 10; previews begin Sept. 25. Tom Irwin directs the play, which has enjoyed only one prior production, at a small theater outside London. Cast members so far include Rondi Reed, Tim Hopper, Lois Smith and Ted Levine, seen of late as a serial killer in the film ”The Silence of the Lambs.”
The fourth show will be a play commissioned by Steppenwolf and funded by the Joyce Foundation, part of an ongoing new-plays project. ”The Song of Jacob Zulu,” written by South African-born Tug Yourgrau, now a resident of Boston, will be unveiled April 1 to May 24. The drama is inspired by an actual incident involving a black activist who blew up a shopping mall and became something of a martyr. The production, to be directed by Eric Simonson, will feature the singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who appeared with pop singer Paul Simon on his ”Graceland” album and tour. For subscription ticket information, call 312-335-1650.
The rest of the selections will be announced later.
Also, a special preview performance of Steppenwolf`s upcoming ”Earthly Possessions,” adapted by Frank Galati from Anne Tyler`s novel, will be held Tuesday as a benefit for ”Season of Concern,” the theater community`s fundraising effort to fight AIDS. For tickets: 312-641-0393.
– Cirque du Soleil, the inventive Montreal theatrical circus, will return with a new production, ”Nouvelle Experience,” Sept. 13 to 29, once again on the plot of land at Cityfront Center, 445 E. Illinois St., across from the North Pier Terminal.
The 39-member troupe, which first played to acclaim here in 1989, will include some newcomers to its performance roster, including four French Canadian contortionists, a pair of Chinese jugglers and Anne Lepage, a solo trapeze dancer. For ticket information: 312-902-1500.
– Blind Parrot Productions will remount its aborted double bill, Mac Wellman`s ”The Bad Infinity” and T.S. Eliot`s ”Sweeney Agonistes,” July 26 to Aug. 17 in a revised version at Victory Gardens Theater, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Blind Parrot originally mounted the show in late May at its year-round home at 1121 N. Ashland Ave. However, legal problems over alleged building code violations effectively shut down the production and have prompted Blind Parrot to leave the space.
”We were really caught in the middle,” says Clair Nolan, artistic director. Nolan added that Victory Gardens in some ways came to an eleventh-hour rescue of this particular show by giving the smaller company a rent break. ”We merely called for advice on the code issue, and they came through.”
Meanwhile, Blind Parrot has decided to abandon its Ashland Avenue home of the past two seasons because of the controversy. ”We worked for three months on this, but it became impossible,” says Nolan. Nolan said the 8-year-old troupe will work on developmental projects this fall and hopes to have a new home by winter.
For tickets for the double bill, call 312-871-3000.
– The Goodman Theatre will open its 1991-92 Studio Theatre series next season with the premiere of Steve Tesich`s ”Commencement Exercises,” a drama set against an imaginary worldwide civil war, to play Nov. 11 to Dec. 1;
previews begin Nov. 1.
Robert Falls, Goodman artistic director, will stage the show. Playwright Tesich (Oscar-winning scenarist for ”Breaking Away”) and Falls last teamed up for ”The Speed of Darkness,” which premiered at the Goodman and then played last season on Broadway.
At least one more selection for the Studio will be announced later. Meanwhile, ”Book of the Night,” the new musical now on the Goodman`s main stage, has proven a box-office success and has been extended through Aug. 11. For tickets: 312-443-3800.
