As we started planning our 51st Season, we looked first at Steppenwolf’s history. A theme that emerged over and over again was this company’s willingness to work hard, dream big and fight like hell to gain agency over our future. We are an artist driven company, and—from the beginning—we set our own course.
And that’s not unlike the mythic American Dream, is it? The notion that regardless of where you’re from or what circumstances you’ve inherited, you can achieve success and prosperity—if you’re willing to work hard and persevere.
Suzan-Lori Parks has plenty to say about the American Dream in Topdog/Underdog, her Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece. This play, which resists simple interpretation, is infused with potent images and provoking ideas that inspire a wide variety of understandings. But clearly, at the center, is an interrogation of this seductive and wily American mythos.
Perhaps it is not the American Dream but the American Game. And a rigged one at that. If life is a game, sometimes you’re the dealer and sometimes you’re the mark. Sometimes you know the rules, and sometimes you don’t even know you’re playing until you’ve lost. The greatest trick of all is not learning how to win but understanding what role you’re playing when and with whom.
This play does not deride ambition. But it does force us to reckon with the American Dream and the relationship between hard work, competition and prosperity. Try as we might, the cold truth is that the self-determination promised by the American Dream is elusive for many, if not all.
This is an important lesson, especially for a company like Steppenwolf with a blue-collar ethos forged by hard work and ambition. But that is exactly why this story of two brothers learning to live with that which they’re dealt remains so meaningful nearly 25 years after its premiere. This deeply human story—now brought to life by a new generation of Steppenwolf ensemble members led by Kenny Leon, a titan of directing—is the perfect first step for Steppenwolf’s next 50 years.
Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis
Artistic Directors
Glenn Davis†, Artistic Director
Audrey Francis†, Artistic Director
E. Brooke Flanagan, Executive Director
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Kenny Leon‡
FEATURING
Glenn Davis†* and Namir Smallwood†*
CREATIVE TEAM
Arnulfo Maldonado+ Scenic Design
Dede Ayite+ Costume Design
Lee Fiskness+ Lighting Design
Justin Ellington+ Sound Design
Jyreika Guest Violence & Intimacy Consultant
Kate DeVore Voice Coach
Patrick Zakem Creative Producer
Elise Hausken Production Manager
JC Clementz, CSA Casting
Laura D. Glenn†* Production Stage Manager
Jaclynn Joslin* Assistant Stage Manager
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service.
www.concordtheatricals.com
Produced on Broadway by
Carole Shorenstein Hays, Waxman/Williams Entertainment, Bob Boyett, Freddy De Mann, Susan Dietz, Ina Meibach, Scott Nederlander, Ira Pittelman, Hits Magazine, Kelpie Arts, Rick Steiner/Frederic H. Mayerson,
The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival.
Original New York production by
The Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival,
George C. Wolfe, Producer.
† 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
Glenn Davis†* Lincoln
Namir Smallwood†* Booth
UNDERSTUDIES
Anthony Fleming III* Lincoln
Patrick Newson Jr. Booth
ADDITIONAL STAFF
Danny Orleans Card Consultant
Jack Morsovillo Guitar Consultant
Reva Stover Assistant Director
Corey Umlauf Assistant Scenic Design
Ellie Fey Assistant Lighting Design
Benji Felix Assistant Sound Design
Alex Olguin Stage Management Apprentice
Megan Pirtle Wig Coordinator
Taylor Pfenning Costume Assistant
Kyra Pan Stitcher
Caitlin McLeod Costume Craftsperson
Deborah Nash Milliner
Meghan Arikara, Josh Derby, Billy Earnisse, Kenny Faust Additional Carpenters
Marcus Klein Additional Properties
Zhanna Albertini, Jessica Wardell Additional Paint
Topdog/Underdog will be presented in two acts, including one 15-minute 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.