Steppenwolf Theatre Company will open its new in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell with the Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) world-premiere adaptation of Eve L. Ewing's 1919, adapted by J. Nicole Brooks and directed by Gabrielle Randle-Bent and Tasia A. Jones.
The production will run Feb. 2-March 6, 2022, with a cast that includes Sheldon Brown, Jessica Dean Turner, Lachrisa Grandberry, Victor Musoni, Max Thomas and Sola Thompson.
To ensure a wider audience can experience this production, Steppenwolf is expanding public performances for 1919 on weeknights and weekends to 24 total, along with weekday student matinees.
Ewing's 1919 tells the story of the killing of 17-year-old Eugene Williams in treacherous waters off the segregated 1919 Lake Michigan shoreline. The next eight days and their aftermath constitute an undertold episode in Chicago history. Adapted from Ewing's poems, J. Nicole Brooks's play explores Black Chicagoans' resistance, fortitude and endurancepast, present and future.
This production will be followed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Seagull, featuring an intergenerational all-ensemble cast. It will run April-June 2022.
Single tickets to 1919 ($5-$20 each) go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, at steppenwolf.org and 312-335-1650.