Steep Theatre Presents The Chicago Premiere Of A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

This July, Steep Theatre will make its 2024 return to the stage with the Chicago Premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's A Case for the Existence of God, directed by Steep Ensemble Member Robin Witt. Performances will be held at the Edge Off Broadway while Steep moves forward with on-going renovations to its recently acquired home.

In A Case for the Existence of God, two single fathers search for hope and human 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 2022'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.

“A Case for the Existence of God feels like a miracle of a play at the moment - one that dares to find hope and compassion in the world.” said Artistic Director Peter Moore.  “It is both quiet and enormous in its emotional scale, and should be an unforgettable experience in this intimate theater.”  

This deeply moving two-person show will feature Steep Ensemble Members Debo Balogun (Red Rex, Zürich, Light Falls) and Nate Faust (Pomona, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Light Falls, The Writer). Faust and Balogun recently worked with Witt on Simon Stephens' Light Falls. 

General ticket sales for A Case for the Existence of God begin today. Ticket prices range from $10 - $40 with performances Thursday - Sunday throughout the production run. 

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.

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

ARTISTS

Samuel D. Hunter (Playwright) grew up in Moscow, Idaho and lives in New York City with his husband and daughter. His full-length plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Case for the Existence of God (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play, Hull-Warriner Award), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), Greater Clements (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play, Outer Critics Circle Honoree), Lewiston/Clarkston (Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, The Healing and The Harvest, among others.

His screenplay adaptation of The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, was nominated for the 2023 BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and received two Oscars, including Best Actor. He was also a writer and producer on all four seasons of FX's Baskets.

He is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His work has been produced off-Broadway in New York City by Lincoln Center Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, Signature Theatre, Page 73 Productions, Clubbed Thumb and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. Elsewhere, his work has been produced by Theatre Royal Bath, Theatre Rotterdam, Dallas Theatre Center, Seattle Rep, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, South Coast Rep and Victory Gardens, among others.

Robin Witt (Director) has directed 12 plays for Steep including Simon Stephens's Light Falls, Harper Regan, and Wastwater, as well as Cordelia Lynn's Lela & Co for which she received a Jeff Award. She is an ensemble member at both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre in Chicago. Other theatres she has worked for include Steppenwolf, Goodman, Northlight, Writers Theatre, Lookingglass and The Artistic Home. Witt is a Professor of Directing at UNC Charlotte and she holds an MFA from Northwestern University. She is the daughter of the late actor Howard Witt. 

The Edge Off Broadway
1133 W Catalpa Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
July 19 - August 25, 2024
Previews: July 13 - 18, 2024
Press Opening: Friday, July 19, 2024 at 7:30pm
Schedule: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 pm | Sunday matinees at 3 pm

Accessible Performances:
Audio Description: Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Open Captioning: Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, August 25, 2024 at 3:00 pm

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