Chicago—Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes the 30th Anniversary season with the world premiere of The Unmentionables by Bruce Norris, directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro, featuring ensemble members Amy Morton and Rick Snyder, with Adeoye, Shannon Cochran, Lea Coco, Kenn E. Head, Jon Hill, Chiké Johnson and Ora Jones. The Unmentionables begins performances on June 29, 2006, in the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre. The press performance is Saturday, July 8, 2006 at 3pm.
The author of The Pain and the Itch, The Infidel, Purple Heart and We All Went Down to Amsterdam has created a work specifically for the Steppenwolf ensemble. In a posh home in a small town in Africa, a wealthy American entrepreneur, flamboyant government representative, young Christian missionary and his fiancé meet by accident. When one of them goes missing, they are forced to confront their benevolent notions of themselves and the realities of the world.
The Unmentionables is the latest collaboration between Bruce Norris and ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro at Steppenwolf. Norris and Shapiro collaborated on last season’s The Pain and the Itch, which received the 2005 Jeff Award for Best New Play. Shapiro will direct the New York premiere of the play at Playwrights Horizons in fall 2006.
The cast of The Unmentionables features ensemble members Amy Morton and Rick Snyder with Adeoye, Shannon Cochran, Lea Coco, Kenn E. Head, Chike Johnson and Ora Jones.
The designers of The Unmentionables are Todd Rosenthal (sets), JR Lederle (lights), James Schuette (costumes) and Robert Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound). Edward Sobel is the production dramaturg. The stage manager is Robert Satterlee and Michelle Medvin is the assistant stage manager.
Previews for The Unmentionables are June 29-July 8, 2006. The production opens Sunday, July 9, 2006, at 6:00 p.m., and runs through August 27, 2006. Curtain times are: Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday matinees on August 9, 16 and 23 at 2:00 p.m. There will be no Sunday evening performances on August 13, 20 and 27.
United is the Exclusive Production Sponsor of The Unmentionables.
Free post-show discussions presented by Steppenwolf artists will be offered daily.
Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company advances the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships, and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through ongoing group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of thirty-five artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.
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