Carl Clemons-Hopkins & More to Star in THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will open its 47th season with the Chicago premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames' fantastical play The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, playing September 1 - October 9, 2022 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

Directed by Whitney White, this fever dream about the dying "Mother of America" features ensemble member Celeste M. Cooper with Sydney Charles, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Nikki Crawford, Cindy Gold, Victor Musoni and Donovan Session.

The recently widowed "Mother of America" lies alone in her Mount Vernon bed, ravaged by illness and attended to by the very same enslaved people who will be free the moment she dies. The form-shifting fever dream that follows takes us deep into the uncomfortable and horrific ramifications of this country's original sin. Dizzying and fantastical, this skewering Chicago premiere from James Ijames' daring voice puts the American myth on trial.

Single tickets for The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington starting at $20 go on sale Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at steppenwolf.org and the Box Office at 312-335-1650.

Steppenwolf 2022-23 Memberships are also on sale, including Classic Memberships offering 6-play packages securing dates and seats, and flexible Black Card Memberships with six tickets for use any time for any production. Also available are Red Card Memberships for theatergoers under 30.

Performance Information

The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington

By Pulitzer Prize-winner James Ijames

Directed by Whitney White

Featuring ensemble member Celeste M. Cooper (Doll) with Sydney Charles (Priscilla), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Davy), Nikki Crawford (Ann Dandridge), Cindy Gold (Martha Washington), Victor Musoni (William) and Donovan Session (Sucky Boy).

In Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago

September 1 - October 9, 2022

The creative team to date includes Clint Ramos (Scenic Designer), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer), Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Designer), Manna-Symone Middlebrooks (Associate Director), Gigi Buffington (Company Voice & Text Coach), JC Clementz (Casting Director), Christine D. Freeburg (Production Stage Manager) and Kathleen Barrett (Assistant Stage Manager). For full cast and creative team bios, visit https://www.steppenwolf.org/tickets--events/seasons/2022-23/miz-martha/.

Playwright/Director Biographies:

James Ijames

James Ijames (Playwright) is a playwright, director and educator who received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for his play Fat Ham. He has appeared regionally in productions at The Arden Theatre Company, The Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Wilma Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Mauckingbird Theatre Company and People's Light and Theatre. James' plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, The National Black Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre and Shotgun Players, and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Gardens. James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and he has two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play for Superior Donuts and Angels in America and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size (Simpatico Theatre Company) and Gem of the Ocean (Arden Theatre). James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ...Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise and a 2020 Steinberg Prize. James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia's first playwright producing collective. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia. James is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and a co-artistic of the Wilma Theater.

Whitney White

Whitney White (Director) is an Obie Award and Lilly Award winning director, actor and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. She is the current recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing award, an Artistic Associate at the Roundabout and a part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Her original musical Definition was part of the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab 2016 ANT Fest, and her five-part musical exploration of Shakespeare's Women and ambition; Reach for It is currently under commission with the American Repertory Theater in Boston. She has developed work with: The New York Times, Ars Nova, The Drama League, Roundabout, New York Theatre Workshop, 59E59, The Lark, The Movement, Jack, Bard College, NYU Tisch, Juilliard, Princeton, SUNY Purchase, South Oxford, Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage and more. Whitney is a believer in collaborative processes and new forms. Her musical discipline is rooted in indie-soul and rock. She is passionate about black stories, reconstructing classics, stories for and about women, genre-defying multimedia work and film. Past fellowships include: New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship, Ars Nova's Makers Lab, Colt Coeur and the Drama League. MFA Acting: Brown University/Trinity Rep. BA Political Science, Certificate in Musical Theatre: Northwestern University.