Displaying items by tag: Jonathan Berry

On Monday, May the 4th, Steep Theatre will present the first public staged reading of playwright Dan Aibel's new work The Making, a revisionist retelling of the story behind the film that would become a cultural phenomenon: George Lucas's Star Wars. The reading will be directed by Steep ensemble member Jonathan Berry and will be performed at the Edge Theater in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago. May the 4th is the unofficial international holiday honoring the Star Wars film franchise. 

A history play set in the 1970s, The Making visits husband and wife filmmakers George and Marcia at the beginning of new projects that will shape the creative landscape for a generation. The reading will feature Steep Ensemble Members Nate Faust, Ashlyn Lozano, Peter Moore, and others.

Playwright Dan Aibel's work has been developed and/or produced by American Theater Co., Stage Left Theatre, The New Group, P73, Rattlestick, Sundance, the Detroit Rep, Syracuse Stage and The Commissary with directors Daniel Aukin, Margot Bordelon and James Macdonald among others. A Sundance Theatre Lab fellow, winner of the Eileen Heckart Drama Prize and finalist for the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, the Jerome New York Fellowship and the Princess Grace Award, Dan's plays have been published by Smith & Kraus and Concord Theatricals.

Director Jonathan Berry is the Artistic Director of Raven Theater and served as Artistic Director of The Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, Maine, from 2022 to 2025. He is a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre and a former Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Steep Credits include: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven't Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.  He directed the Steppenwolf productions of: Lindiwe, The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace.  In 25 years, he's directed nearly 100 productions in Chicago. Most recently, he directed the Chicago premiere of Ugly Lies the Bone for Shattered Globe. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Acting Studio Chicago, Columbia College and many of Chicago's professional acting schools. He taught viewpoints and served as the director for The School at Steppenwolf. 

WHAT:

The Making by Dan Aibel

Directed by Steep Ensemble Member Jonathan Berry

A history play set in the 1970s, The Making visits husband and wife filmmakers George and Marcia at the beginning of new projects that will shape the creative landscape for a generation. 

WHEN: 

Monday, May the 4th, 2026, 7:30PM

WHERE:

The Edge Theater

5451 North Broadway, Chicago, Illinois

The Making will be performed at the Edge Theater as Steep continues construction on its new home, targeted to open Fall of this year.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets $10-$30 available at https://steeptheatre.com/the-making

"If you're not going to grow then don’t live," says Hazel in Lucy Kirkwood's play 'The Children' now running at Steppenwolf. Directed by Jonathan Berry, 'The Children' makes its area debut after extended runs on Broadway and West End. A well-cast trio of Chicago favorites will surely entice audiences.

In 'The Children', Hazel (Janet Ulrich Brooks) and Robin (Yasen Peyankov) are living in a seaside cottage on the English countryside. The location and set seem idyllic until a surprise visitor Rose (Ora Jones) comes to ask a favor. Soon we found out that they have been forced to relocate after an accident at the power plant they used to work for. In witty dialogue, Hazel and Rose discuss their current lives after having not seen each other in years. Both are older and are easing into lives of comfort in their late middle age. Hazel is impossibly optimistic and in a constant state of self-improvement, while Rose has grown cynical about the end years of her life. Robin is somewhere in the middle, literally as it's quickly revealed there's old passion between he and Rose.

It's hard to think of a play that addresses climate change and nuclear disaster quite like 'The Children'. In fact, the playwright said she struggled to think of a compelling way to relay the horrors of climate change while the whole world does nothing. Theatre is a difficult medium in which to teach scientific facts. Instead, Kirkwood focuses on character. This is a story about three characters each unique in their outlook of death.

Since this play is so reliant on character, Berry is wise to bring in heavy hitters Janet Ulrich Brooks and Ora Jones. Both have such commanding stage presence and likability that audiences are drawn in from the very first word. There's a comforting quality to Brooks' Hazel that soothes the harsh realities of rising sea levels. Jones walks a difficult line with Rose, she's able to make extremely unpleasant subject matters humorous.

'The Children' is an intimate play the confronts the issues facing humanity head on. Kirkwood isn’t afraid to touch on subject matters that make you squirm in your seat. She's taken an event like the Fukushima disaster in Japan and put it right in the western world's lap. Without being preachy, she spins a story that ordinary Chicagoans can see themselves in. While it may not be a direct call to action, it's strongly encouraged here. Despite the darkness, she gives her play an optimistic ending. As long as there are good people, there is hope.

Through June 9th at Steppenwolf Theatre. 1650 N Halsted St. 312-335-1650.

It’s the season of Arthur Miller in Chicago. It appears Miller is enjoying a renaissance right now with three of our major companies reviving his work this season. The Steppenwolf takes on "The Crucible" as their Young Adult show. Calling upon Jonathan Berry (one of the city's foremost storefront theatre directors), Steppenwolf bids for a younger audience's attention.

Berry doesn't disappoint. His vision for this show is more like MTV than stuffier productions of yore. The first act begins with hip-hop flavored choreography combined with Izumi Inaba's stylish costumes that create a sort of "sexy Halloween costume" version of "The Crucible". The alternative staging helps guide a younger, perhaps less engaged audience through the multi-cast roles and quick on-stage character changes. Berry also makes a distinct stylistic choice to gender and colorblind cast all of the roles. Performances are convincing enough that it never feels like a gimmick. Instead, it underscores Miller's theme that these characters are all of us.

The only misstep is Naimi Hebrail Kidjo's tepid Abigail. Arthur Miller's scenes between Proctor and Abigail are some of the most electrifying in modern American drama, but somehow, they rarely reach a boil here. Perhaps an underplayed Abigail helps bring the relationship between Proctor and his wife Elizabeth into sharper focus. The scenes between John (Travis A. Knight) and Elizabeth Proctor (Kirstina Valada-Viars) are gripping. Valada-Viars gives a feisty performance, making Elizabeth a stronger heroine than typically played. Knight's John Proctor is youthful and naive, but not without a quick temper and imposing figure.

The ensemble wears many hats, quite literally in some cases. Stephanie Shum swiftly moves through characters without faltering. It's hard to figure why some actors played more roles than others, but the moral backbone of the play is sufficiently taken up by Taylor Blim's Mary Warren.

For many of us, "The Crucible" occupies a greyish area of high school that we'd like to forget. The old timey language and belabored scenes are hard to get into. Even still, this is a show the Steppenwolf is aiming at school groups. Berry's version is cool. It may take some effort to get generation Snapchat into it, but for those who invest, this is a worthwhile production. "The Crucible" and "Death of a Salesman" are essential theater experiences. So much more is defined in a live performance versus a moldy permabound high school book.

Miller is hot right now because his themes are forever relevant. "The Crucible" tells us not to be sheep, but to look around and develop our own code of ethics. Jonathan Berry's modernish version of this classic work is sure to attract audiences without much theater-going experience, and what a cool introduction this would be. The key to instilling the values of Arthur Miller onto another generation is make it seem new, and this production feels fresh.

Through October 21 at Steppenwolf Theatre. 1650 N Halsted St. 312-335-1650