Steep Theatre has big plans for summer and for 2016-2017 season

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Chicago’s Steep Theatre. (Photo: Courtesy of Steep Theatre)

Chicago’s Steep Theatre will definitely not be taking a vacation this summer.

Not only will it stage the U.S. premiere of “Wastwater,” a play by Simon Stephens (winner of the 2015 Tony Award for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” which will arrive in a national touring production running Dec. 6-24 run at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre), but it will welcome the British playwright himself to the theater for a five-day visit, July 21-25.

“Wastwater,” to be directed by Robin Witt (who recently received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for “London Wall”), will run July 7 – Aug. 13 at Steep, whose storefront home is located at 1115 W. Berwyn. The play, which takes its name from the deepest lake in England, delves into three relationships that are each “sitting on the edge of a defining decision.” The cast will include Caroline Neff (who forged her career at Steep, and recently became an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre), Peter Moore, Melissa Riemer, Nick Horst, Kendra Thulin, Joel Boyd, Richard Costes, Bernadette Santos Schwegel, and Allison Anderson.

On July 25, Stephens, an Associate Playwright at Steep, where his work has been championed with productions of “Harper Regan,” “Motortown,” and “Pornography” (with other plays – “On the Shore of the Wide World,” “Port” and “Punk Rock” – produced by Griffin Theatre), will read “Song from Far Away,” a piece originally written with songwriter Mark Eitzel of American Music Club, for director Ivo van Hove of Toneelgroep Amsterdam. The reading will be followed by a discussion of Stephens’ work and career, and a reception with the playwright and Steep ensemble members. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at http://www.steeptheatre.com. On July 21 and July 23, Stephens will be in attendance at performances of “Wastwater,” and will participate in post-show receptions. A limited number of tickets are available to both performances.

British playwright Simon Stephens is headed to Chicago’s Steep Theatre this summer. (Photo: Courtesy of Steep Theatre)

British playwright Simon Stephens is headed to Chicago’s Steep Theatre this summer. (Photo: Courtesy of Steep Theatre)

Meanwhile, Steep has announced its lineup of plays for the 2016-2017 season, which will include a world premiere from Chicago playwright Alex Lubischer; a U.S. premiere from Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Bartlett; a U.S. premiere from rising English playwright Cordelia Lynn; and a Midwest premiere from California-based playwright Lauren Yee. Jeff Award-winning directors (and Steep ensemble meebers) Robin Witt and Jonathan Berry will helm two of the productions, to be joined by two guest directors.

The season kicks off in late September with the world premiere of Chicago playwright Alex Lubischer’s “Bobbie Clearly,” directed by Josh Sobel. The play, developed in part through workshops and a public staged reading at Steep in 2015, was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Award. Lubischer, whose plays have previously been seen and developed at The Actors Theatre of Louisville and at Chicago’t Victory Gardens Theatre, will begin the MFA program in Playwriting at Yale Drama School this Fall.

In January, Berry (whose recent credits include Steppenwolf’s “Constellations” and Steep’s “Posh”), will direct the first U.S production of Bartlett’s “Earthquakes in London,” which debuted at the National Theatre in London in 2010. (Bartlett was a 2016 Tony nominee for “King Charles III,” which will have its Midwest premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2017.) In April, Steep will produce the Midwest premiere of San Francisco-bred playwright Lauren Yee’s “Hookman.” And closing out the season will be the U.S. premiere of Cordelia Lynn’s “Lela & Co.,” which debuted at London’s Royal Court Theatre, and will be directed here by Witt.

Jeff Award-winning director Robin Witt will be part of Steep Theatre’s 2016-2017 season. (Photo: Courtesy of Steep Theatre)

Jeff Award-winning director Robin Witt will be part of Steep Theatre’s 2016-2017 season. (Photo: Courtesy of Steep Theatre)

Here’s a closer look at the four plays:

+ “Bobbie Clearly” (Sept. 29 – Nov. 5): Alex Lubischer’s play, directed by Josh Sobel. This darkly comic tale considers the title character, who nobody from the town of Milton, Nebraska ever gave much thought to before “the tragedy in a cornfield.” Two years later, it’s hard for them to think of much else as the community opens up about life in the aftermath, and making sense of senseless violence.

+ “Earthquakes in London” (Jan. 26 – March 4, 2017): Mike Bartlett’s play, directed by Jonathan Berry. As global destruction approaches, the lives of a climate scientist and his three estranged daughters come crashing, unexpectedly, back together. This “epic play” embodies the chaos of today’s society, while reminding us that our very survival may depend on our connections to our families, our communities, and our shared world.

+ “Hookman” (April 20 – May 27, 2017): A play by Lauren Yee. Who hasn’t heard the urban legend about the Hookman? Lexi’s mother certainly warned her about him, and now, after a tragic accident, Lexi begins seeing him everywhere. Yee’s play is “a lethally sharp slasher comedy” about death, growing up, what it means to be a woman, and the ever-present threat of being murdered by a man with a hook for a hand.

+ “Lela & Co.” (July 13 – Aug. 19, 2017): Cordelia Lynn’s play, directed by Robin Witt. Instinct, tenacity, biting humor, and trust in the future keep Lela alive as her world closes in around her. Based on a true story, the play is “an eerily funny and enthralling story about “the horrifying enterprise of war, and a girl who may or may not have eaten some frosting.”

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