Video: Laurie Metcalf & Joe Mantello Talk LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD at Steppenwolf
The production runs through August 4.
By: Blair Ingenthron Jul. 20, 2024
Tony and Emmy Award-winning Steppenwolf ensemble member Laurie Metcalf and Tony award-winning director Joe Mantello discuss their collaboration on Samuel D. Hunter's LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD in the video here.
"I get challenged by Joe in a way that... I always learn. I always learn something in the rehearsal room," says Metcalf.
"We were looking for plays we were both interested in. Kind of dangerous plays... really exploiting what Laurie does best. And I remember they came to us and said, 'What if we commissioned something?' And Sam [D. Hunter] was one of the people who was on the table. And we both really loved his work," Mantello says.
Metcalf affirms: "We both trusted him."
Metcalf is joined by John Drea (Steppenwolf debut), Meighan Gerachis (POTUS, Domesticated) and Micah Stock (Steppenwolf debut, It's Only A Play – Tony Award nomination).
In the outer limits of rural Idaho, the last two estranged members of the Fernsby family tree, a reclusive aunt and her gay nephew, reunite to sort the mess left behind after a troubled father's passing. They now face an uncomfortable and universal question: how do we deal with other people? And is connection more trouble than it’s worth? As their relationship begins anew, the two reluctant Fernsbys – separated by age and experience – start to understand the joys and perils of letting someone else into your own story, even if only for a moment.
The creative team includes Scott Pask (Scenic Design), Jessica Pabst (Costume Design), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Design), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), John Baker (Dramaturg), Gigi Buffington (Voice and Text Coach), Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer), Tom Pearl (Producing Director), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager).
Due to popular demand, Little Bear Ridge Road will enjoy two additional weeks of performances, extending through Sunday, August 4, 2024 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets starting at $20 are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.
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