MARIE ANTOINETTE, GRAND CONCOURSE and More Set for Steppenwolf's 2015 Season; Tickets Go on Sale Today

Steppenwolf Theatre Company kicks off the New Year with the Chicago premiere production of Marie Antoinette (February 5, 2015 - May 10, 2015), a modern, witty take on the young queen of France by David Adjmi (Elective Affinities, 3C) and directed by Robert O'Hara (Bootycandy). Next is the US premiere of The Herd (April 2, 2015 - June 7, 2015), the deftly comic story of a suburban English family by actor-playwright Rory Kinnear. Ensemble member and Tony Award winner Frank Galati directs in place of previously announced director K. Todd Freeman, who had an artistic scheduling conflict. Ensemble member Lois Smith joins the cast of The Herd, which features fellow ensemble members Francis Guinan and John Mahoney.

Concluding the 2014/15 subscription season is the Chicago premiere production of Grand Concourse (July 2, 2015 - August 30, 2015) by Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning playwright Heidi Schreck, directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov and featuring ensemble members Tim Hopper and Mariann Mayberry. Set in a Bronx soup kitchen, Grand Concourse explores the value of compassion and the limits of forgiveness.

As previously announced, Garage Rep 2015 (February 20, 2015 - April 26, 2015) features three cutting-edge Chicago companies producing inventive work in Steppenwolf's Garage Theatre: Cold Basement Dramatics, Pride Films and Plays and Red Tape Theatre. Details on all three companies and their productions are listed below.

Single tickets to the remaining 2015 Subscription Shows and Garage Rep 2015 go on sale today, December 5 at 11am. Tickets ($20 - $82) will be available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), at 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 2015 Subscription Shows:

(All plays, artists and dates are subject to change)

Marie Antoinette

By David Adjmi

Directed by Robert O'Hara

Featuring ensemble members Alana Arenas, Tim Hopper, Ora Jones and Alan Wilder with Matthew Abraham, Tim Frank, Keith D. Gallagher, Mark Page, Tamberla Perry and Ariel Shafir

February 5 - May 10, 2015 in the Upstairs Theatre

Before Britney Spears and Justin Bieber, there was Marie Antoinette. In David Adjmi's contemporary take on the young queen of France, Marie is a confection created by a society that values extravagance and artifice. But France's love affair with the royals sours as revolution brews, and for Marie, the political suddenly becomes very personal. From the light and breezy banter at the palace to the surging chants of "Liberté! Égalité! Fraternité!" in the streets, Marie Antoinette holds a mirror up to our contemporary society that might just be entertaining itself to death.

Marie Antoinette premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2012, a co-production with American Repertory Theater. David Adjmi is a playwright based in Brooklyn Heights, New York; his other work includes 3C, Caligula and Stunning. Robert O'Hara is an NAACP- and Helen Hayes Award-winning playwright and director who has staged the world premiere of The Brother/Sister Plays, In the Continuum and his play, Bootycandy.

Ameriprise Financial is the Corporate Production Sponsor of Marie Antoinette.

The Herd

By Rory Kinnear

Directed by ensemble member Frank Galati

Featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan, John Mahoney and Lois Smith

April 2 - June 7, 2015 in the Downstairs Theatre

It's Andy's 21st birthday and preparations for the party are under way. But Andy and his caregiver are running late. As his family gathers, two unexpected guests appear, straining the delicate family dynamic. With a deft comic touch, The Herd introduces us to a suburban English family who have had to re-organize themselves around the extraordinary needs of one of their own, bringing to light the challenges of reconciliation, the power of shared memories and the irresistible pull of family.

In 2013 London's Bush Theatre produced the world premiere of The Herd, actor-turned-playwright Rory Kinnear's debut work. Steppenwolf ensemble member Frank Galati, who won two Tony Awards for his adaptation and direction of Steppenwolf's production of The Grapes of Wrath, directs.

United Airlines is the Presenting Sponsor of The Herd. ComEd is the 2014/15 Season Lighting Sponsor. Allstate Insurance Company is the Corporate Production Sponsor of The Herd.

Grand Concourse

By Heidi Schreck

Directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov

Featuring ensemble members Tim Hopper and Mariann Mayberry

July 2 - August 30, 2015 in the Downstairs Theatre

Having dedicated her life to religious service, Shelley runs a Bronx soup kitchen with unsentimental efficiency. Her brisk nature masks an unsettling fear that her efforts are meaningless. When Emma-a rainbow-haired college dropout-arrives to volunteer, her well-intentioned recklessness pushes Shelley over the edge. With both humor and heart, Grand Concourse asks big questions about the value of compassion and the limits of forgiveness.

Grand Concourse is currently receiving its world premiere production at Playwrights Horizons in New York. Heidi Schreck's work includes The Consultant, There Are No More Big Secrets and Creature. She has received two Obies, a Drama Desk and the Theatre World Award. Ensemble member Yasen Peyankov recently directed Hushabye by Tanya Saracho for the First Look Repertory of New Work 2014 and last season's Russian Transport in the Upstairs Theatre.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Garage Rep 2015 Lineup:

Presented in rotating rep: February 20, 2015 - April 26, 2015

(All plays, artists and dates are subject to change)

Cold Basement Dramatics presents

Heat Wave

By Steven Simoncic

Directed by Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary

Tickets: $20

Chicago, 1995: An intense heat wave has gripped the city with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees. 739 people die, mostly people who are poor, elderly, or minorities with nowhere to seek shelter. As the morgues overflow, the city's emergency response team is called into question. The Mayor's Office combats the criticism with a PR campaign that successfully turns the blame onto the victims and their families. As Chicago approaches the 20th anniversary of that summer, Heat Wave tells the story of the people who were made invisible, the hard working citizens who fought to uncover the truth and the resilient Chicago community that suffered, yet carried on.

Cold Basement Dramatics (Artistic Director, John Pagano; Executive Director, Dan Planz) is a nonprofit, itinerant Chicago theatre company committed to telling the stories about the things that we hide from ourselves and others. Now in their 5th season, Cold Basement has been dedicated to producing shows that expose the truth and tell stories that have not been told. coldbasement.org

Pride Films and Plays presents

Angry Fags

By Topher Payne

Directed by Derek Van Barham

Tickets: $20

Topher Payne's comedy Angry Fags illustrates what happens when activism gets angry. Cooper and Bennett are men who feel helpless when their friend is the victim of an assault at a bar. Then, they feel something new: pure, unfiltered rage. Cooper presents the argument that no one is granted the rights they deserve until people are a little afraid of them. And no one is afraid of gay guys. Not yet. Angry Fags is an Oscar Wilde-meets-'Fight Club' fever dream about how good ideas go bad, with fascinating forays into American politics, bomb building and pistachios. "It doesn't get better. We have to MAKE it better."

Pride Films and Plays (David Zak, Executive Producer; Jude Hansen, Producer) creates work about, for, and by the LGBTQ community but that is essential viewing for all audiences. PFP hopes to further the conversation about sexuality and community at a time when much progress has been made but there is still so much for us all to learn. Formed in 2010, this multiple Jeff Award winning company has strived to foster new writing for the stage and screen through readings, competitions, classes, and theatrical productions. pridefilmsandplays.com

Red Tape Theatre presents

The Walk Across America for Mother Earth

By Taylor Mac, with music by Ellen Maddow

Directed by Bonnie Metzgar

Tickets: $20

Political activism meets bedazzled drag show in this story about two young friends who flee their suburban upbringing in "Real America" to join a ragtag group of activists on a protest march from D.C. to Nevada. On the road, the group attempts to establish a nomadic utopia, but the marchers continually find themselves divided by unrequited affections, indecision, and a secret hunger for power. Whimsically blending commedia dell'arte influences with song and dance, The Walk Across America for Mother Earth explores how the idea of community sometimes fails to unite us, and sometimes brings us together in the most unexpected ways.

Red Tape Theatre (Josh Johnson, Managing Director; Meghan Reardon, Associate Artistic Director; Jesse Cannady, Producing Director) now in its 11th season, is committed to the creation of new and experimental work through collaborations with our ensemble, playwrights, musicians, dancers and visual artists. Red Tape's plays invite audiences to re-imagine their world and serve a vital purpose in our community: to arrest attention and create empathy. This work is additionally supported by our Fresh Eyes Playwrights Workshop Series, which is produced annually. redtapetheatre.org

The Steppenwolf Garage is dedicated to new plays, new artists and new audiences for the American theater. It offers artists the opportunity to present their work with the scale, space and resources it merits. For audiences, it provides opportunities to engage in multigenerational conversation about the new, provocative work emerging from Chicago's diverse and vibrant theatre scene.

Steppenwolf's 2014/15 season explores the question, How did I get here?, through five stories about losing -- and finding -- your way. Upcoming in the 2014/15 subscription season is the world premiere production of Airline Highway by Lisa D'Amour and directed by Joe Mantello. Airline Highway was commissioned and developed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Steppenwolf's production will be presented by Manhattan Theatre Club at their Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway in Spring 2015. Airline Highway begins previews December 4, 2014 (opening night is December 14, 2014; press performances are December 13 at 3pm and December 16 at 7:30pm) and runs through February 8, 2015 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Single tickets to Airline Highway ($20 - $86) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America's longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces-the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 44 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and two repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, and Garage Rep. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and 12 Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf's Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.

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