When we started our tenure as Artistic Directors three years ago, we set some shared goals for our first seasons. We wanted to welcome audiences back and to open our new Ensemble Theater; we aspired to reinvigorate Steppenwolf’s commitment to launching landmark new plays and we challenged ourselves to inject joy into our work and to find plays that allow our ensemble to do what we do best: visceral, honest storytelling. 

And another goal: we craved the return of ensemble members who had been with the company since its formative days. While leading Steppenwolf towards the future, we chose to embrace our legendary roots. Many of our company’s greatest triumphs have been the result of different generations of artists colliding in truly gripping works. 

So, when we called up the iconic Laurie Metcalf, one of the great stage talents of our (or any) time, we were delighted to hear that she was eager to get back onstage at her creative home. We were equally delighted to hear that her director of choice was Joe Mantello, one of the preeminent directors working today who had previously helmed Steppenwolf’s epic world premiere of Airline Highway in 2014. Laurie and Joe have collaborated many times, and we were humbled that Steppenwolf would produce their next project. The only question that remained: what would we create? 

Thus began a nearly year-long process of scouring the American theatrical canon in want of a play that was a fit for this singular team. In that search, it became clear that our shared ambition was to find a play to meet our current moment; the most natural route was to instead commission a playwright to create a wholly new work. Samuel D. Hunter, the celebrated writer behind some of the most acclaimed plays of the last two decades, was at the top of everyone’s list. The rest, as they say, is history. Kismet. 

Sam has written a truly remarkable play that, with its focus on the interior life of Idahoans on the margins of American society, fits right into his body of work in terms of theme and style. As you will soon see, Little Bear Ridge Road is a rich play about many things: isolation, family bonds, our relationship with television, our place in the cosmos. Above all else, it is a stunning and subtle look at our ability (or inability) to connect with others. Is investing in other people, or relying on them, worth it when we’re all just temporary specks of dust in the vast scale of the universe? 

Whether this is your first play with us or if you’ve been on the ride all along, thank you for being a part of Steppenwolf’s 48th season, the first we programmed together as Artistic Directors. From thrilling world premieres of Purpose and a home what howls, rip-roaring productions of POTUS and The Thanksgiving Play, to the timely and moving staging of Sanctuary City, we have been grateful to gather with our audiences on Halsted Street and connect over great stories and unforgettable performances.

 And we could not be prouder to conclude this season with Little Bear Ridge Road, a new play for our time, tailor-made for Steppenwolf. 

Audrey Francis and Glenn Davis
Artistic Directors

STEPPENWOLF PRESENTS

LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD

By Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Joe Mantello‡

FEATURING

John Drea, Meighan Gerachis*, Laurie Metcalf†*, Micah Stock*

CREATIVE TEAM

Scott Pask+ Scenic Design  
Jessica Pabst+ Costume Design  
Heather Gilbert+ Lighting Design  
Mikhail Fiksel+ Sound Design  
John Baker Dramaturg 
Gigi Buffington Voice & Text Coach 
Patrick Zakem Creative Producer 
Tom Pearl Producing Director 
JC Clementz, CSA Casting  
Laura D. Glenn* Production Stage Manager 
Jaclynn Joslin* Assistant Stage Manager
 

Little Bear Ridge Road was commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago; 
Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Artistic Directors, E. Brooke Flanagan, Executive Director.

† member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble.
* member of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.
+ member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 of the IATSE.
‡ member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

This Theatre operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

CAST

John Drea James/Kenny
Meighan Gerachis* Paulette/Vickie
Laurie Metcalf†* Sarah
Micah Stock* Ethan

Additional Voices: Glenn Davis† *, Mary Beth Fisher*, Audrey Francis† *

UNDERSTUDIES

Chad Bay James/Kenny
Mara Casey Paulette/Vickie
Mary Beth Fisher* Sarah
Evan Mulrooney Ethan

ADDITIONAL STAFF

Stephen Carmody+ Associate Scenic Design 
Erica Lauren Maholmes+ Assistant Lighting Design 
Amina Gilbert  Assistant to the Lighting Designer
Angela Joy Baldasare Assistant Sound Design 
Alivia Arizaga Production Assistant 
Molly Rosen Script Supervisor 
Mae Roth Rehearsal Assistant
Jack Warner Sound Technician 
Cindy Moon Costume Lead 
Dana Nestrick Costume Crafts Artisan   
Josh Derby, Billy Earnesse, Kenny Faust, Kat Taylor Additional Carpenters  
Amy Couey Interim Assistant Scenic Charge  

SPECIAL THANKS

Jay Hunter, Dr. Blase Polite & Dr. Virginia Shaffer

Little Bear Ridge Road is presented without an intermission.

As a courtesy to the actors and your fellow patrons, please turn off your cell phones before the performance. The taking of photographs and the use of any type of recording device are not allowed in the theater during performances and is a violation of state and federal copyright laws; digital media will be deleted, and tape or film will be confiscated.

Entry and re-entry into the theater after the performance begins is not guaranteed.

The theater reserves the right to limit admission of children younger than the age of six.