Steppenwolf Theatre's 50th Season Will Include Amadeus and More

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, under the leadership of artistic directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis and executive director E. Brooke Flanagan, has announced its 50th anniversary season. Ensemble members from across generations are coming back to join the season, which features a world premiere, two Chicago premieres, and two modern classics.

The season will kick off with the Chicago premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s family drama Mr. Wolf, about a 15-year-old who returns home after being kidnapped as an infant, running September 11–November 2. The production, directed by longtime ensemble member K. Todd Freeman (Airline Highway), will feature Kate Arrington (Grace), Tim Hopper (Downstate), James Vincent Meredith (The Minutes), and Caroline Neff (Linda Vista).

Peter Shaffer’s Tony Award-winning Amadeus, about the rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, will run November 6-January 4, 2026. Helmed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County), the production features Ian Barford (Linda Vista), Robert Breuler (A Walk in the Woods), K. Todd Freeman, Francis Guinan (Noises Off), Sally Murphy (The Minutes), and Yasen Peyankov (Describe the Night).

The season continues with Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog (January 29, 2026-March 22, 2026) directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun) and starring Glenn Davis (King James) and Namir Smallwood (Pass Over) as brothers who go head-to-head.

The world premiere of Windfall by Academy Award-winning ensemble member Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) will run April 9, 2026-May 31, 2026. Directed by Awoye Timpo (Wedding Band), the production features Alana Arenas (Purpose), Glenn Davis, and Jon Michael Hill (Superior Donuts). In the play, Mac loses his child in a clash with the local police and is visited by three strangers who advise him to take the city’s cash settlement, relocate, and forget his grief, or else stay and remain impoverished surrounded by memories of the world his child fought to protect.

The season concludes with the Chicago premiere of Mia Chung’s Catch as Catch Can, directed by Amy Morton (August: Osage County). Three actors, Gary Cole (True West), Audrey Francis (Noises Off), and Tim Hopper, take on six roles, bridging generation and gender.

Throughout the season, Steppenwolf continues its commitment to education and the next generation of audiences with dedicated student matinee performances, in-school residencies, teen programs, community partnerships, educator trainings for classroom teachers and teaching artists, and a brand-new series of on-site workshops in art-making and theater production.

Additionally, the LookOut Series in the 1700 Theater will continue to host the work of performing artists across the disciplines of dance, drag, music, storytelling, comedy, puppetry, and more.

Founded in the mid-1970s by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry, and Terry Kinney in the basement of a suburban church, the Steppenwolf ensemble has expanded to 49 artists.