‘Good Night, and Good Luck,’ ‘Seagull’ and new theater highlight Steppenwolf’s 2020-2021 season

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced its 2020-2021 season on Wednesday, punctuated by the opening date of its new “theater campus,” which will make its long-awaited debut in July 2021 with the staging of the Anton Chekhov classic “Seagull.”

At a cost of $73 million, the new 50,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art center (at 1646 N. Halsted) will feature classrooms, social gathering spaces and a 400-seat theater-in-the round. A new Downstairs Theatre lobby “will connect the existing and new buildings, creating a seamless campus on Halsted Street,” Wednesday’s official announcement said.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

The majority of the season’s productions will take place at Steppenwolf’s current home at 1650 N. Halsted, starting with the world premiere stage adaptation of the historical drama “Good Night, and Good Luck” (Oct. 22-Dec. 20) by Matt Charman, based on the Oscar-nominated film screenplay by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. The production will feature Steppenwolf ensemble members Ian Barford (as legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow), William Peterson (as CBS head William S. Paley), Alana Arenas, Audrey Francis and Tom Irwin with Jordan Brodess, Keith Gallagher and Joey Slotnick.

Also on tap for the new season are the world premiere of Vichet Chum’s “Bald Sisters” (Dec. 3, 2020-Feb. 7 2021) in the Upstairs Theatre; the Chicago premieres of “Barcelona” by Bess Wohl (Jan. 28-March 14, 2021) and “Last Night and the Night Before” by Donnetta Lavinia Grays (April 1-May 16, 2021), and Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “Choir Boy” (June 10-Aug. 1, 2021), all in the Downstairs Theatre.

The season’s final production will mark the official opening of the new theater with a world-premiere adaptation of the Anton Chekhov classic “Seagull” (running July 24-Sept. 12, 2021). The play features an all-ensemble cast (Ian Barford, Cliff Chamberlain, Francis Guinan, Tim Hopper, Sandra Marquez, James Vincent Meredith, Caroline Neff, Karen Rodriguez and Namir Smallwood) directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov.

In addition to the intimate 400-seat theater with seating only six rows deep, the new building — designed by world-renowned architect Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture and the London-based theater design team Charcoalblue — boasts an education floor with classrooms and workshops, a new bar and sidewalk lounge.

“The new theater is a bold, modern in-the-round space offering unparalleled levels of focus for the actors and audience. Chicago doesn’t have another space like it — in fact Steppenwolf is leading a renewed charge in defining rooms where dialogue and the immediacy of the performers is paramount,” said Gavin Green, senior partner at Charcoalblue.

The parking garage at 1624 N. Halsted will undergo some cosmetic changes to its exterior to create design symmetry along the new theater campus structure.

Membership season tickets only are currently available at the Steppenwolf box office (1650 N. Halsted) or steppenwolf.org/memberships.