Steep Theatre will be back on stage in 2024 with two new productions that continue the company's tradition of bringing new work to Chicago audiences. In July, Steep will open the Chicago Premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's A Case for the Existence of God at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre, directed by Steep Ensemble Member Robin Witt. In September, the company will present the World Premiere of Ensemble Member Omer Abbas Salem's Happy Days Are Here (Again) at Steppenwolf Theatre's 1700 Theater, directed by Azar Kazemi.
"We're excited for the year ahead and to be back with our artists and audiences doing what we do best - creating conversations and community through our work on stage," said Artistic Director Peter Moore. "We're enormously grateful to Steppenwolf and the Edge for offering us homes away from home as we continue the work of building the new Steep Theatre."
Steep is currently in the process of transforming its new building in Edgewater into a state-of-the-art performance space, artistic home, and cultural center that will serve the company for years to come.
In Samuel D. Hunter's A Case for the Existence of God, two single parents search for understanding and connection as they confront crises of parenting and financial insecurity. The play premiered at New York's Signature Theatre in April 2022 and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play. Director Robin Witt has been at the helm for some of Steep's most memorable productions over the years, including Harper Regan, Lela & Co, and 2021's critical and commercial hit, Light Falls. This will be Steep's second Hunter production, having produced the Midwest Premiere of Hunter's The Few in 2016.
Steep Ensemble Member Omer Abbas Salem's Happy Days Are Here (Again) was commissioned and workshopped by Steep and will receive its World Premiere production at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater, bringing one of Chicago's rising playwriting voices to a prominent Chicago institution. Salem is a 3Arts Award winner whose work has been produced by About Face and First Floor Theatres and developed by the Goodman and Steppenwolf Theatres. This large ensemble piece explores how people in power abuse their systems and the resilience that fighting them requires. This production will mark director Azar Kazemi's debut with Steep. Kazemi recently directed Rivendell Theatre's smash-hit, world premiere production of Tuckie White's Motherhouse, which won Jeff Awards for both Best New Work and Best Ensemble.
General ticket sales for A Case for the Existence of God will begin on June 5th, and Happy Days Are Here (Again) general ticket sales will go on sale in August.
About Steep Theatre
Founded in 2000 by three actors, Steep has grown into a dynamic ensemble of forty-five theatre artists, supported by a dedicated and inspired team of arts administrators and community members. Described by Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune as "the most fearless theater in town", Steep creates powerful productions of plays by today's most exciting writers and features the work of Chicago's hottest theatre artists in an intimate, accessible space. Steep is known as a home for hard-hitting, finely-tuned ensemble work. With each production, the company has shepherded a growing community of audiences and artists into bold new territories of story and performance. Steep Theatre is committed to creating an inclusive and anti-racist environment for making and watching theatre. To learn more, please visit https://steeptheatre.com/antiracism.
Steep is in the midst of its Lights Up Edgewater Capital Campaign to support the creation of Steep's new theater and artistic home and to fund robust and equitable compensation for artists and staff. To learn more about this campaign, please visit www.steeptheatre.com/lightsup.
Production Information
The Chicago Premiere of
A Case for the Existence of God
Written by Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Robin Witt
July 19 - August 25, 2024
The World Premiere of
Happy Days Are Here (Again)
Written by Omer Abbas Salem
Directed by Azar Kazemi
September 20 - October 27, 2024
