Displaying items by tag: Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Mark Cortale are pleased to announce the return of Tony Award-winning Broadway star Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Carousel, Waitress) playing three performances only December 18 & 19, 2026 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. The evening promises a seamless mix of intimate, behind-the-scenes stories prompted by funny, insightful and revealing questions from SiriusXM Radio star Seth Rudetsky (on piano) with music from Mueller's stellar career, plus a sprinkling of holiday favorites. 

Tickets cost $89* – $149*. A special Steppenwolf member pre-sale begins Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 12 pm. Tickets go on sale to the general public Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 12 pm at steppenwolf.org/jessiemueller or by calling the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. *Pricing includes $10 handling fee

Performance schedule:

Friday, December 18, 2026 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, December 19, 2026 at 3 pm & 7:30 pm

About the Artists:

Jessie Mueller was most recently seen on Broadway in Tracy Letts' The Minutes. Previously, Jessie starred on Broadway in the revival of Carousel (Drama Desk Award, Tony, Grammy nominations). She originated the roles of Jenna in Waitress (Tony, Drama Desk, Grammy nominations) and Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Tony, Drama Desk, Grammy Awards). Other Broadway credits include Nice Work If You Can Get It and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.  She will be returning to the Kennedy Center this Fall in Guys and Dolls. TV/film: Patsy & Loretta, Madam Secretary, Blue Bloods, Evil, Candy, Chicago Voices (Chicago Emmy nomination), Steven Spielberg's The Post, A Good Person and Secret Headquarters.

Seth Rudetsky spent many years on Broadway as a pianist and/or conductor on shows like Les Misérables, Ragtime and Phantom of the Opera, as well as two years as a comedy writer on The Rosie O Donnell Show (three Emmy nominations with his co-writers) which led to him writing two opening numbers for the Tony Awards. He is now the afternoon deejay on the SiriusXM Broadway channel, as well as the host of his own talk show, Seth Speaks. He has performed his show, Deconstructing Broadway in London, Boston (Irne award) and L.A. (with Barbra Streisand in the audience!). He co-wrote and co-starred in Disaster!! (a New York Times Critic's Pick) on Broadway, which was licensed by Music Theater International and is being performed all over the country. After the Pulse Nightclub shooting, James Wesley Jackson told Seth an idea he had of doing an all-star "What The World Needs Now Is Love" and they recorded it with around 50 stars including Carole King, Idina Menzel, Gloria Estefan, Bernadette Peters, Jessie Mueller ('natch!) and more. The single went to number one on iTunes, has raised over $100,000 for the Pulse nightclub victims and families, as well as the Trevor Project and they performed it at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. When the COVID lockdown began, Seth and James started the twice-a-day livestream Stars In The House with reunions of original casts of Broadway shows like Ragtime, A Chorus Line and Cats, as well as TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Taxi and Frasier. The livestream raised over $1,000,000 for the Actors Fund and over $100,000 for other charities like NAACP LDF and "You Gotta Believe" for foster youth. Seth has published numerous books including "The Rise And Fall Of A Theatre Geek" (Random House) and the recent "Musical Theatre For Dummies". After October 7,  2023, Seth founded The Jewish Broadway Alliance which is now a 501(c)3. He also runs Seth's Broadway Cruise and will soon be sailing with some of his favorite stars to the Caribbean, Bermuda, The Greek Isles and the ABC Islands. You can get more info on his cruises and see tons of his videos at SethRudetsky.com.

Accessibility:

Steppenwolf is committed to making the theatergoing experience accessible to everyone. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access. If you have questions or would like to make a specific request, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call our box office at (312) 335-1650.

Sponsor Information: 

United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul Angell Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Julius Frankel Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, John Hart and Carol Prins, Shubert Foundation, Inc, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors Anonymous, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Michael and Cathy Brennan, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Rich and Margery Feitler, FROST CHICAGO, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Jessica and Dominic Green Family Fund, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Orlebeke Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Thoma Bravo, and Bryan Traubert and Penny Pritzker. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.     

About Steppenwolf Theatre Company:

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier Ensemble Theater with 51 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions have made this theatre legendary. From the early phenomenon of Balm in Gilead, to The Grapes of Wrath, August: Osage County, Downstate, The Brother/Sister Plays, and more recently, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Purpose, Steppenwolf Theatre has had a long-running and undeniable impact on American Theatre and Chicago's cultural landscape. Founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise, Steppenwolf started as a group of friends in their teens and early 20s performing in the basement of a school in Highland Park, Illinois. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 14 Tony Awards, two Pulitzer Prize-winning commissions and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair Keating Crown — Steppenwolf continually redefines the boundaries of live theater and pushes the limits of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf's Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Dance Nation is the story of a school dance team of thirteen-year-olds. The concept may seem to have dubious appeal, but Dance Nation quickly sinks its teeth into our attention with its opening scene.

Director and choreographer Lee Sunday Evans has put the students in sailor suits, and they rigidly perform a very well-rehearsed but uninspired tap dance number, moving just awkwardly enough through its limited steps and gestures to reveal that they are adolescents.

With that admirable bit of stagecraft by director Evans, the script by Clare Barron comes to life, firmly establishing the players (the actors range in age from their 20s to 60-something) as a believable band of pre-pubescent girls, with one like-aged boy, Luke. Kudos to these actors.

The play itself is strong, compelling enough to merit a Drama Desk Ensemble Award and an Obie Awards Special Citation this year. And it was a Pulitzer finalist. 

Anyone who has been involved with competitive middle school regional, state and national  competitions – soccer, Little League, debate team, what have you – will recognize the frenzied energy that students and faculty put toward winning. In the case of Dance Nation, the strangely imagined choreography and dance storylines are developed and directed by the dance team leader, Teacher Pat (Tim Hopper). 

The dynamic emotional lives of these students is the heart of the play. Audrey Francis is Vanessa; Caroline Neff is Zuzu; Karen Rodriguez plays Amina; Ariana Burkes is Sofia; Adithi Chandrashekar is Connie; Ellen Maddow is Maeve; and Shanesia Davis is Ashlee. Torrey Hansen is Luke. It’s a hoot to see these actors of all ages capture the physical style and the angst of these adolescents. And they do it so well!

Barron gives us, in Teacher Pat, something familiar: a bit of a tyrant, who is as at once capricious, manipulative and authoritarian. Teacher Pat is not imaginative perhaps, but he is filled with conviction and certainty in his beliefs.

Teacher Pat comes and goes on stage. Most of the time is focused on the student interactions. But when he is there, sometimes it's quite harmful, as when he tries to dissuade Zuzu from quitting the dance team telling her that she will ruin her chances of ever pursuing dance again.

We also see the appearance of some of the mothers of the students, who Barron captures perfectly in these fleeting scenes. Some mothers are amazingly nurturant, wise, supportive, while one in particular - Zuzu's mother - has an unhealthy and neurotic emotional enmeshment with her daughter. 

Teacher Pat drives the students forward for the upcoming national competition in Tampa, that they will win in dramatic stages through two smaller regional competitions before getting to the nationals. Aiming to get them fired up about the dance show he will soon reveal, Teacher Pat turns it on:

“Let’s give them something to tell them there is a revolution coming out of Liverpool Indiana!” he says. (Hopper delivers the line so perfectly, appending Indiana after just a beat.) The show that will spark this revolution is overwrought and cockamamie.  

The students struggle through insecurities, personal issues, and the competitive challenges - but are generally bonded as a mutually supportive group. Barron also affords those flashes in scenes in which we can see laid out before us the promise of a young person who is destined to achieve great things in life. 

Dance Nation runs through February 2, 2020 at Steppenwolf Theatre. Don't miss it!