Jonathan Berry, a longtime Chicago director and former artistic producer at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will take the helm at Raven Theatre, a 43-year-old off-Loop Chicago theater that operates a busy, two-stage complex in an Edgewater building that once housed a grocery store.
Berry was laid off from Steppenwolf in 2020 and subsequently became artistic director of the Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, Maine. He stepped down from that position last year and returned to Chicago. Berry also has close ties to the Steep Theatre Company, where his numerous collaborations with the leading British playwright Simon Stephens over the years have been especially successful.
Raven’s current executive artistic director, Sarah Slight, has accepted a new position as associate artistic producer at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. She exits on May 1, shortly after Raven, which is now an Equity-affiliated theater, opens its first-ever musical, “Octet” by Dave Malloy, on April 30. She described her three seasons at Raven as “a great honor,” noting both several premieres there and new partnerships with visiting companies.
Berry, 44, said he hoped to “continue to build on Raven’s commitment to extraordinary, collaborative theater making that connects and enriches the greater Chicago community.”
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
