New work from Adam Rapp and Stephanie Alison Walker, both writers with ties to Chicago, and the return of both the director Tina Landau and the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins feature in the 2026-27 season at Chicago’s illustrious Steppenwolf Theatre. Both of Steppenwolf’s artistic directors, Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, will also appear on stage in the five-show subscription season.
The slate kicks off in September in the Downstairs Theater with what appears essentially to be a Chicago restaging of director Kenny Leon’s 2022 Broadway revival of Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog/Underdog” (Sept. 17 to Nov. 1). The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama will have a cast including Davis and Namir Smallwood. (Smallwood can currently be seen on Broadway in Tracy Letts’ “Bug.”)
In October in the in-the-round Ensemble Theater, Steppenwolf will mount the world premiere of Walker’s “Adirondack Chair Circle” (Oct. 22 to Dec. 6), a comedy about suburban life. Francis will be part of director Pam MacKinnon’s cast.
In a co-production with American Conservatory Theater of San Francisco, Steppenwolf will next stage director Landau’s new production of Jacobs-Jenkins’ “The Comeuppance” (Feb. 4 to March 21, 2027) in the Downstairs Theater, with a cast set to include Celeste M. Cooper, Caroline Neff, Karen Rodriguez and Smallwood. First seen at New York’s Signature Theatre in 2023, this play from the author of “Purpose” is set at a high school reunion.
April brings the Broadway director Whitney White to Steppenwolf for the English-language premiere of “Ellen B.” (April 1 to May 9, 2027), a psychological thriller by Marius von Mayenburg, a popular Nordic noir-style playwright. “Ellen B.” was first produced at the National Theatre of Iceland about three years.
Finally, Steppenwolf will stage the world premiere of Rapp’s “The Night Fawn” (May 27 to July 3, 2027), a searing and deeply personal drama set in and around the Illinois city of Joliet that already has generated significant national buzz. Terry Kinney will direct in the Downstairs Theatre with Cliff Chamberlain in the leading role. As with all these shows, further casting is yet to be announced.
Memberships for the upcoming season at Steppenwolf Theatre (1650 N. Halsted St.) are available now with tickets on sale at a later date; 312-335-1650 and www.steppenwolf.org
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
