Steppenwolf Announces LookOut Performance Series Kicking Off June 4

LookOut, Steppenwolf Theatre's popular performance series that presents the work of artists and companies across genre and form, proudly announces its Summer 2022 season, featuring a riotously eclectic lineup of performances spanning the gamut of music, drag, storytelling and more.

Among the highlights are The Linda Show, featuring popular Chicago vocalist Bethany Thomas and her Band of Geniuses performing the work of classic pop songstress Linda Ronstadt; Walkabout Theater's Still a Quiet Afternoon, a musical tragicomedy interweaving personal narratives with historic events, songs, and poetic storytelling; and Jush Hour with drag stars Bambi Banks-Couleé and Aunty Chan promising an evening of hilarity (and splits).

"After a long pause, the LookOut Series is finally returning to what we do best: showcasing and celebrating the wide breadth of Chicago's intrepid artists," said Steppenwolf Creative Producer Patrick Zakem. "This summer we are thrilled to present fifteen engagements that, together, represent the most eclectic slate of performance on any Chicago stage. Classical musicians, drag queens, standup comedians, storytellers-and everything in between."

All LookOut performances are on sale now and take place in Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater, an intimate and flexible venue nestled behind the company's Front Bar at 1700 N. Halsted Street. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit steppenwolf.org/lookout or call the Box Office at 312-335-1650.

LOOKOUT SUMMER 2022 SEASON

In chronological order:

maeve & quinn present:

Movement & Location

Saturday, June 4, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $20

In Movement & Location, audience members will experience poetry in recitation as well as original music composition and songwriting featuring guitar, violin, piano, and voice. The duo brings together Maris' song lyrics with Bryce's poems in order to navigate self, relationship, and inheritance through an ecological lens.

IN BAD TASTE: Raising my son, Raising myself & Lowering the Bar

by Eunji Kim and directed by Parker Callahan
Friday, June 10 & Saturday, June 11, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $20

In Bad Taste is an evening of impeccable nonsense with dumbass/comedian/mother, Eunji Kim. Join her for some laughs, a cry and a few "HUH?!"s.

Ajumma Show LIVE! featuring Peter Kim & Eunji Kim

Sunday, June 12, 3:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $20

A live recording of the podcast sensation The Ajumma Show, where two Korean-American comedians (Peter Kim & Eunji Kim) examine relationships, career, and pop culture through the queer, feminist, lens of an Ajumma, aka a Korean auntie. Comedian & WBEZ Radio journalist Susie An will open the event!

Pussy Pleaser Productions present:
Drag in Mutation

Friday, June 17, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $15

It's 2022 and drag continuously evolves as gender is deconstructed. Drag In Mutation explores how the changes in the world and society reverberates in our art. Join us as we play with our latest mutations.

Muslim Writers Collective Chicago present:
UNMUTE

Friday, July 1 & Saturday, July 2, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $12

"Oh, I'm sorry-you're muted." While this phrase has gained traction in these pandemic years, the idea of muted Muslims in the media is audible. With UNMUTE, Muslim Writers Collective Chicago presents an evening of Muslim artists, unmuted, sharing their stories.

The Linda Show: Bethany Thomas Sings Linda Ronstadt

Tuesday, July 5, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $25

Chicago actor/singer/shapeshifter Bethany Thomas pays tribute to one of rock music's most treasured, versatile, and unmistakable voices--Linda Ronstadt. Join Bethany and her Band of Geniuses as they revisit some of Linda's definitive takes of classic tunes like Desperado, Blue Bayou, Different Drum and Tumblin' Dice.

You Can Cry When You Get Home

Written and performed by Dani Nicole James

Friday, July 8 & Saturday, July 9, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $15

Directed by Caitlin Looney, You Can Cry When You Get Home is the exploration of the difference between being lonely and being alone when our phones are constantly keeping us connected to the world around us. Using characters and songs, Dani Nicole James dives into the little ways that they cope with loneliness and the moments they choose to hide or share what's really going on in their brain.

Walkabout Theater presents:
Still a Quiet Afternoon

Thursday, July 14, Friday, July 15 & Saturday, July 16, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $15

Still a Quiet Afternoon is a mythic, musical tragicomedy about two people in their small apartment observing a multitude of apocalyptic events through their single window. Interweaving their personal narratives with historic events, songs, and poetic storytelling, Katie Mazzini (Her) and Gabriel Thom Pasculli (Him) investigate each character as the protagonist of their own life--and their inner movements as entire worlds-juxtaposed against an endlessly apocalyptic context.

That Shit's Trans: Live!

Wednesday, July 20, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Prices: $12 advance, $15 at the door

Drag performer Irregular Girl invites a special guest to discuss a formative piece of media that was DEFINITELY trans-even if it wasn't! That Shit's Trans is a show that invites us to look critically (and maybe cheekily) at pieces of media that were formative to trans and genderqueer audiences, despite not being intentionally queer.

80 Minutes Around the World Immigration Stories

Produced and hosted by Nestor "the boss" Gomez
Friday, July 22 & Saturday, July 23, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $20

80 Minutes Around the World Immigration Stories showcases stories by immigrants, refugees, and allies on their immigration experience. Founded by 60+ time Moth Story Slam winner Nestor Gomez, the first show debuted in 2017 with showings in Chicago theaters, before making its way to New York City in summer 2018 and LA in 2021. The wide breadth of participants over the years have included storytellers, writers, comedians, and other performers.

Bambi Banks-Couleé and Aunty Chan present:
Jush Hour

Friday, July 29 & Saturday, July 20, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $30

Bambi Banks-Couleé and Aunty Chan are two Chicago drag artists who do all their own stunts. Get ready to goop, gag, wig and be shook as hilarity ensues and legs are split.

Quijote Duo presents:
CRISOL A summer night of swirling sounds

Friday, August 5, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $20

Parallel to Cervantes' Don Quijote, whose life story is a melting pot of adventures and misfortunes, Quijote Duo presents CRISOL (melting pot), an eclectic program that intends to stir your imagination through sounds and music. To take you from one composer's world to another's.

Ladylike

Saturday, August 6, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $15

Funny women. Gross stories. Started in 2019, Ladylike is a storytelling show where women and non-binary performers tell their grossest stories.

Crazy Or Nah?!

A one woman show by Kellye Howard
Thursday, August 18; Friday, August 19; & Saturday, August 20, 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, August 21, 3:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $27

Crazy or Nah?! is something like a one woman show, comedically questioning the lasting effects of emotional and psychological trauma. Using storytelling, poetry, and stand-up comedy, Kellye tells a winding road story exemplifying resilience, finding inner joy, and the importance of introspection in the acceptance of some of life's most challenging ebbs.

Focus Group LLC performs:
WASTED LIGHT

An opera by Ethan T. Parcell

Friday, August 26, 8:00 p.m. & Saturday, August 27, 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $15

WASTED LIGHT is an opera about meaning making, near ancestry, false promise, time passing, space passing, and billboards. It is sung, spoken, and played with smallness and hospitality. Focus Group LLC is an experimental opera ensemble whose work has been described as "quiet in volume but large in scope" and "far-reaching but incredibly personal

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's trailblazing new 50,000 square foot theater building and education center, the Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center, was designed by world-renowned architect Gordon Gill FAIA of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with construction by Norcon. The centerpiece of the new Arts and Education Center is the new 400-seat in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell-one of its kind in Chicago-with theater design and acoustics by Charcoalblue. Currently underway is the inaugural production in the Ensemble Theater, ensemble member Yasen Peyankov's extraordinarily funny and magical adaptation of Seagull, now on stage through June 12, 2022.

The expanded Steppenwolf campus is a cultural nexus for Chicago, offering bold and ambitious opportunities for creative expression, social exchange, unparalleled accessibility, and arts-driven learning for Chicago youth in The Loft, Steppenwolf's first-ever dedicated education space. The campus expansion also features bright new lobbies and two new full-service bars for socializing designed by fc STUDIO, inc. The $54 million new building is part of Steppenwolf's multi-phase $73 million Building on Excellence expansion campaign. Learn more about Steppenwolf's campus expansion at steppenwolf.org/buildingonexcellence.

Steppenwolf is part of the growing coalition of more than 70 Chicagoland performing arts venues and producers that have agreed upon COVID-19 vaccination and mask requirements for all audiences, artists, and staff. Audience members must provide proof of vaccination in addition to wearing masks. Learn more about Steppenwolf's guidelines at steppenwolf.org/welcomeback.

Steppenwolf has worked over the past year with our operations team, public health advisors and HVAC consultants to prepare its facility to safely welcome patrons back for performances. The addition of the new Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center has expanded the square footage of the lobbies to nearly twice the previous amount of space offered to guests. Two additional elevators and multiple stairways have also been added to Steppenwolf's campus for ease of transition between seating levels. The HVAC systems have undergone upgrades to allow for increased filtration and a higher percentage of circulated fresh air across all three theaters.

Steppenwolf offers accessible services to ensure all audience members have access to our work, including American Sign Language interpretation (available for student matinees as scheduled with education staff or per public performances below), Spanish Language captions, wheelchair accessible seating and more. With questions, email access@steppenwolf.org.

Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative is supported by the Zell Family Foundation. Accessibility Services sponsored by John Hart and Carol Prins. United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is also grateful for the significant season support from the Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts, Northern Trust, Allstate Insurance Company, ComEd, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, and Vinci Restaurant.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater that is home to America's ensemble. The company began performing in the mid-1970s in the basement of a Highland Park, IL church-today Steppenwolf is the nation's premier ensemble theater with 49 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Deeply rooted in its ensemble ethos, the company is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and making the Steppenwolf experience accessible to all. Groundbreaking productions from Balm in Gilead and August: Osage County to Downstate and Pass Over-and accolades that include the National Medal of Arts and 12 Tony Awards-have made the theatre legendary. Artistic programming includes a main stage season; a Steppenwolf for Young Adults season; LookOut, a multi-genre performance series; and the Steppenwolf NOW virtual stage. The nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education engages more than 20,000 participants annually in Chicagoland communities promoting compassion, encouraging curiosity and inspiring action. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. 2021 marks the opening of Steppenwolf's landmark Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts & Education Center-deepening the company's commitment to Chicagoland teens and serving as a cultural nexus for Chicago. Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis are the Artistic Directors and E. Brooke Flanagan is Executive Director. Eric Lefkofsky is Chair of Steppenwolf's Board of Trustees.

Steppenwolf's Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org.

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