Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Co. concludes 32nd season with 'Superior Donuts' from Tracy Letts

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

I just received the following press release.

Steppenwolf Presents
Superior Donuts
By Ensemble Member Tracy Letts
Directed by Ensemble Member Tina Landau
June 19 - August 17, 2008

CHICAGO (May 20, 2008) - Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau. The production, featuring ensemble members Jon Michael Hill, Yasen Peyankov and James Vincent Meredith, with Jane Alderman, Kate Buddeke, Cliff Chamberlain, Michael Garvey, Robert Maffia and Michael McKean, runs June 19 - August 17, 2008 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The press performance is Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.

Arthur Przybyszewski (Michael McKean) owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks (Jon Hill), a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. This provocative world premiere comedy, set in the heart of one of Chicago’s most diverse communities, explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship.

Ensemble member Tracy Letts received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his critically-acclaimed play August: Osage County, currently playing on Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. Mr. Letts is also the author of Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London.

Ensemble member Tina Landau most recently directed Steppenwolf’s 2007 production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Other Steppenwolf directing credits include Cherry Orchard, The Time of Your Life (also Seattle Rep, A.C.T.), Theatrical Essays, Maria Arndt, The Ballad of Little Jo, The Berlin Circle, Time to Burn, and her own play, Space (also NY’s Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum).

Superior Donuts is directed by Tina Landau. The design team includes: Loy Arcenas (sets), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Christopher Akerlind (lights), Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (original music and sound) and Chuck Coyl (fight choreography). Edward Sobel is the dramaturg. Laura D. Glenn is the stage manager and Lauren V. Hickman is the assistant stage manager.

Title: Superior Donuts
Playwright: ensemble member Tracy Letts
Directed by: ensemble member Tina Landau
Featuring: ensemble members Jon Michael Hill (Franco), Yasen Peyankov (Max), and James Vincent Meredith (James) with Jane Alderman (Lady Boyle), Kate Buddeke (Randy), Cliff Chamberlain (Kevin), Michael Garvey (Kiril), Robert Maffia (Luther) and Michael McKean (Arthur).

Location: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Dates: Previews: June 19 - June 28, 2008
Press preview: Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Opening: Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.
Regular Run: June 29 - August 17, 2008
There is no performance on July 4, 2008.

Curtain Times: Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
(Sunday evening performances through July 27, 2008 only)
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday matinees on July 30, August 6 & 13 at 2:00 p.m.

Ticket price: Previews: $20-$45
Regular Run: $20-$68
Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11:00 a.m. on the day of each performance (1:00 p.m. for Sunday performances). Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student discounts available.

Audience Services: 1650 N. Halsted, 312-335-1650
Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org

Production Sponsor of Superior Donuts is United Airlines.

Free post-show discussions, sponsored by AT&T, are offered after every performance.

Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance.

Superior Donuts was developed as part of Steppenwolf’s New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf is recognized as a national leader in the development and production of new work for the American canon. Through this initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence and rigorously discovers and supports the work of early and mid-career playwrights.

Steppenwolf’s New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and members of the Directors Circle.

Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.