Grammy Winner Thomas Young Joins Jeff Perry in STANDUP SHAKESPEARE 7/17

Steppenwolf Theatre Company announces a change in the casting of the LookOut Series Concert Reading of Standup Shakespeare. This event, which is a benefit concert reading for the theatre, will still feature the extraordinary talent of Steppenwolf co-founder Jeff Perry and Broadway legend Alice Ripley. Joining them will be Grammy and Clio Award-winning Opera singer Thomas Young, who was in the original Off-Broadway production directed by Mike Nichols and is featured on the Standup Shakespeare cabaret review album recorded in 1995.

Thomas Young is replacing the previously announced Norm Lewis. The show takes place Monday, July 17 at 6:30pm in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. Tickets ($79-99) are currently for sale through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org. A limited number of $15 student tickets are available one hour before the show.

Standup Shakespeare: A Concert Reading with music by Ray Leslee and book by Kenneth Welsh sets the timeless language of the Bard to the exciting rhythms of jazz, baroque, samba and gospel-rock original music. A fractured love story is performed by a modern-day Fool (Steppenwolf co-founder and ABC's Scandal Jeff Perry) and award-winning opera tenor Thomas Young and Broadway legend Alice Ripley (Next to Normal - Tony Award for Best Actress) in this concert reading. Accompanying the cast are Marshall Coid (Violin), Dave Dunaway (Bass), Ray Leslee (Piano) and Josh Plotner (Woodwinds).

Jeff Perry is a co-founder of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He served as Steppenwolf Artistic Director from 1982 to 1985 and 1986 to 1987 and was integral to the founding of The School at Steppenwolf, where he continues to teach and direct. Perry's many acting credits at Steppenwolf include August: Osage County (also Broadway and London), Balm in Gilead (also Off-Broadway), The Time of Your Life (also Seattle, San Francisco), Picasso at the Lapin Agile, The Grapes of Wrath (also Broadway and London), The Caretaker (also Broadway) and Streamers (also Kennedy Center). He currently portrays Cyrus Beene on ABC's Scandal and has also appeared in Nash Bridges, Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life.

Thomas Young is a Grammy and Clio-award winning American lyric tenor. His first appearance at New York City Opera was in the roles of Street and Elijah Muhammed in the world première performance of Anthony Davis's X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X. He made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in the world première of Amistad by the same composer, portraying the Trickster GoD. Davis then composed another role for Young in his opera Under the Double Moon, which received its première at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Young's other performances have included Aron in Schoenberg's Moses und Aron and Desportes in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at City Opera; John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer at San Francisco Opera; Schwalb in Hindemith's Mathis der Maler at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden; and Polo in Tan Dun's Marco Polo at the Hong Kong Festival, a role he created for the Biennale Festival (Munich). His performances of the standard operatic repertoire have included Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, Gounod's Faust, the U.S. premiere of Armida (as Rinaldo) with Tulsa Opera, Handel's Imeneo at New York City's Town Hall, and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (as Sportin' Life) with Houston Grand Opera. He has also performed musical theater roles, including Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, the title role in The Wiz, the Leading Player in Pippin, and Che in Evita.

Alice Ripley received the 2009 Best Actress in a Musical Tony and Helen Hayes Awards for her work in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of The Who's Tommy, and went on to star in the original Broadway casts of Sunset Boulevard, Side Show (Tony and Drama Desk noms), James Joyce's The Dead, and The Rocky Horror Show. She most recently played three roles in the Broadway musical, American Psycho. Ms. Ripley is also a songwriter, and she has produced three albums with her band, RIPLEY. She has starred in the feature films Muckland, SUGAR!, Bear With Us, The Way I Remember It and Isn't It Delicious, and appeared on the small screen in Girlboss, Blue Bloods, 30 Rock, and Royal Pains.

Single tickets ($79-$99) are available at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org. Student Rush Tickets: a limited number of $15 student tickets are available one hour before the show. Limit 2 tickets per student; must present a valid student ID for each ticket; steppenwolf.org/students. Flex Card Memberships: Anytime Black Card Members may purchase any ticket for one credit each, and Weekday Black Card Members may purchase balcony tickets only for one credit each. For more information about FlexCard Memberships, call Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or visit steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf is located at 1650 N Halsted St near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. The parking facility consists of both a covered garage ($11 cash or card) and an open-air lot, located just south of our theater at 1624 N Halsted. Valet parking service ($14 cash) is available directly in front of the main entrance at 1650 N Halsted St starting at 5pm on weeknights, 1pm on weekends and at 12 noon before Wednesday matinees. Street and lot parking are also available. For last minute questions and concerns, patrons can call the Steppenwolf Parking Hotline at (312) 335-1774.

LookOut is Steppenwolf's performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, emerging artists and performance legends, quintessential Chicago companies and young aspiring ensembles, familiar Steppenwolf faces and new friends. Tickets to all LookOut programming are available through Steppenwolf Audience Services. Prices vary for each show. The LookOut Series is presented year-round and announced on an ongoing basis. John Zinn, Greta Honold and Patrick Zakem are the producers for LookOut. For more information, visit steppenwolf.org/lookout.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier ensemble theater. Formed by a collective of actors in 1976, the ensemble has grown to 49 members who represent a remarkable cross-section of actors, directors and playwrights. Thrilling and powerful productions from Balm in Gilead to August: Osage County-and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards-have made the theater legendary. Steppenwolf produces hundreds of performances and events annually in its three spaces: the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat 1700 Theatre. Artistic programing includes a seven-play season; a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; Visiting Company engagements; and LookOut, a multi-genre performances series. Education initiatives include the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf for Young Adults, which engages 15,000 participants annually from Chicago's diverse communities; the esteemed School at Steppenwolf; and Professional Leadership Programs for arts administration training.

While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Anna D. Shapiro is the Artistic Director and David Schmitz is the Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf's Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

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