Photo Flash: In Rehearsal with Steppenwolf Theatre for the Chicago Premiere of YOU GOT OLDER

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere production of the Obie Award-winning play You Got Older, written by Clare Barron and directed by Jonathan Berry. This bawdy, irreverent and touching play features four ensemble members Glenn Davis (Mac), Audrey Francis (Hannah), Francis Guinan (Dad) and Caroline Neff (Mae), along with Emjoy Gavino (Jenny), David Lind(Matthew) and Gabriel Ruiz (Cowboy).

You Got Older begins previews on January 25, 2018, opening night is Monday, February 5, 2018 and the production runs through March 11, 2018in the Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted St. Press performances are Monday, February 5 at 7:30pm and Wednesday, February 7 at 7:30pm;Single tickets ($20 - $89) are available through Audience Services at 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

Mae's life is kinda falling apart. Her boyfriend dumped her, she got fired from her job, and she's moved back home to take care of her dad. As if that weren't enough, she has this weird rash and a fantasy cowboy just won't leave her alone. What happens when your life path leads you right over a cliff?

In this bawdy, irreverent and touching new play, up-and-coming playwright Clare Barron masterfully blends reality and fantasy in a dark comedy about falling apart as you're failing to launch, and what you might find instead.

Director Jonathan Berry shares, "Clare's work manages to be both remarkably intimate in its exploration of relationships, while, at the same time, embracing a vocabulary that is ferociously bold and singularly theatrical. To be able to introduce this exciting new voice to Chicago audiences, collaborating with these remarkable ensemble actors whose work continues to inspire and challenge, feels like incredible good fortune. I cannot wait to get to work on this fresh and hilarious new look at what it is to hold tight to a disappearing childhood while struggling to avoid the realities of getting older."

Clare Barron's plays have been produced by Page 73, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Clubbed Thumb and The Bushwick Starr, and will be presented by Playwright Horizons in 2018. She is the recipient of an Obie Award, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship. Barron was also the co-winner of the inaugural 2015 Relentless Award established in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman for her play Dance Nation.

Jonathan Berry joined the Steppenwolf staff as Artistic Producer and Director of The School at Steppenwolf in June 2015. A prolific director, he began his work in Chicago as Steppenwolf's Artistic Office intern in 1998, and has continued a strong relationship with the company since. His Steppenwolf directing credits include Nick Payne's Constellations, Melinda Lopez's Gary for First Look and The Crucible and A Separate Peace for Steppenwolf for Young Adults, as well as assisting on The Weir, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Mother Courage and Her Children and This is Our Youth. Since 2009, Berry has taught Viewpoints for the School at Steppenwolf. A company member of both Steep and Griffin Theatres, Berry has also directed for many Chicago companies, including Goodman Theatre, Steep, Griffin, Remy Bumppo, Redtwist, Lifeline, and The Gift.

You Got Older production team includes Meghan Raham (scenic design), Alison Siple (costume design), Marcus Doshi (lighting design), Matt Chapman (sound design & original music), Rasean Davonte Johnson (projection design), Gigi Buffington (company vocal coach) and Sasha Smith (intimacy choreography). Additional credits include Laura Glenn (stage manager), Mary Hungerford (assistant stage manager), JC Clementz (casting director) and Hallie Gordon (artistic producer).

Photos by Joel Moorman.

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