Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood to Star in Topdog/Underdog at Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf Theatre Company, under the leadership of artistic directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis and executive director E. Brooke Flanagan, has announced its 2026-27 season, its 51st season. The season includes two world premieres, a Chicago premiere, an English-language premiere, and a modern classic.

The season kicks off with Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog (September 17-November 1), directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon. Ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood star as two brothers who go head-to-head.

Next up is the world premiere of Chicago playwright Stephanie Alison Walker’s satire Adirondack Chair Circle (October 22-December 6), directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon. Featuring ensemble member Audrey Francis, the play is about suburban mom Banna who seems to have it all, but there’s a funny feeling bubbling underneath the seemingly perfect facade.

The season also includes the Chicago premiere of The Comeuppance (February 4, 2027-March 21, 2027), a dark comedy by Pulitzer- and Tony-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Ensemble member Tina Landau ​directs this co-production with American Conservatory Theater featuring Celeste M. Cooper, Caroline Neff, Karen Rodriguez, and Namir Smallwood​. On the night of their 20th high school reunion, a group of misfit millennial classmates reconnect for a familiar pregame.

The English-language premiere of Ellen B. (April 1, 2027-May 9, 2027), a psychological thriller by Marius von Mayenburg, translated by Daniel Brunet, and directed by Whitney White, is about Astrid, a teacher, who lives with Klara, her considerably younger partner former student. Wolfram, the school’s headmaster, drops by for a visit, bringing uncomfortable accusations.

The season will conclude with the world premiere of Adam Rapp’s The Night Fawn (May 27, 2027-July 3, 2027), a provocative confession with haunting implications about memory and revenge, directed by ensemble member Terry Kinney and featuring ensemble member Cliff Chamberlain.