Two new plays recently seen on Broadway will be among the five shows headed to the Steppenwolf Theatre stage during its 2012-2013 season. The lineup, which artistic director Martha Lavey has loosely gathered under the umbrella title of “The Reckoning” (a settling of accounts set into motion as the past reveals itself), includes:
“Good People” (Sept. 13-Nov. 11), David Lindsay-Abaire’s play about the tension generated when a down-on-her-luck, working-class girl from South Boston reaches out for a job to an old flame who has become a successful doctor. K. Todd Freeman will direct the Broadway drama.
“The Motherf..ker with the Hat” (Dec. 27, 2012-March 3, 2013), Stephen Adly Giurgis’ play about a recovering alcoholic, his girlfriend and the hat he finds in their apartment that sends him into a tailspin. Anna D. Shapiro, who directed the show on Broadway, will stage it here with a new cast.
“The Birthday Party” (Jan. 24-May 19, 2013 in the Upstairs Theatre), the Harold Pinter classic, set in an English seaside boarding house, where the lives of a couple and their longtime tenant are upended by the arrival of two mysterious, menacing men. Austin Pendleton will direct a cast that includes the return of founding ensemble member Moira Harris, plus Sophia Sinise (daughter of Gary Sinise and Harris, John Mahoney, Francis Guinan and Ian Barford.
“Head of Passes” (April 4-June 9, 2013), a Steppenwolf-commissioned world premiere by Tarell Alvin McCraney (“The Brother/Sister Plays”), set at the mouth of the Mississippi River, as a birthday party becomes the catalyst for the revelation of dark family secrets and a search for faith. Tina Landau will direct.
“Belleville” (June 27-Aug. 25, 2013), Amy Herzog’s drama, a recent hit at Yale Repertory, about a young American couple living in Paris, where their seemingly ideal marriage begins to unravel in surprising ways. Anne Kauffmann will direct.
For tickets, call (312) 335-1650; steppenwolf.org.
NOTE: Ike Holter’s “Hit the Wall,” presented by The Inconvenience, and the big hit of the current Steppenwolf Garage Rep series, has been extended through April22. The show, with a rock band component, captures the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1969 that many mark as the start of the gay rights movement. Shannon Matesky, a standout in the production, will be replaced by Daesahwna Cook for the April 12-15 shows.
