Joan Allen speaks warmly about returning to Steppenwolf Theatre, her role in "The Wheel" (performing now, until November 10th), and the founding members of the Theatre. Below is the photo, shown in her video interview:
 |
| Members of Steppenwolf Theatre (circa 1980), with Joan Allen on the left |
In 1974, a plucky group of young actors in suburban Illinois who rehearsed in a borrowed church basement decided, "Hey, let's start a theater company!" What may sound like the premise of a new TV show along the lines of Smash and Glee is, actually, a true story—starring Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry, and Terry Kinney as the plucky young actors. The theater they founded in that basement? Chicago's Tony Award-winning Steppenwolf Theatre Company (with a name borrowed from the Herman Hesse novel for no particular reason at all). The theater, which received the National Medal of Arts in 1998, is heading toward its 40th birthday, which is not bad considering that neither Sinise, Perry, nor Kinney knew that what they were incubating would become one of the most highly revered theaters in the world. In fact, according to Perry, they "had no other particular skill set" and were just doing what they loved. He added, "I don't remember thinking more than a week ahead…I don't think any of us did. I think we only thought to the next opening of the show."
My wife and I must've seen two or three plays at the Steppenwolf Theatre, but it's been ages since the last time. Besides Allen in the photo above, I have seen Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and John Malkovich in films.
No comments:
Post a Comment