Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre

This thrilling mystery buried by years of history, fiction and conflict plays through April 9, 2023.

By: Mar. 20, 2023
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Steppenwolf Theatre Company is continuing its 47th season with ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's Chicago premiere of Describe the Night, directed by ensemble member Austin Pendleton. This thrilling mystery buried by years of history, fiction and conflict plays through April 9, 2023 in Steppenwolf's stunning new in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, the centerpiece of its recently unveiled Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center, 1646 N. Halsted St. in Chicago.

See photos from opening night below!

Describe the Night features ensemble members Glenn Davis, James Vincent Meredith, Sally Murphy, Caroline Neff and Yasen Peyankov with Jack Cain, Charence Higgins and Jon Hudson Odom.

Truth is lie; lie is truth. 1920: Jewish writer Isaac Babel begins a journal while serving in war. Ninety years later, this same journal is found in the wreckage of a suspicious plane crash. What did Babel write, and why does it matter? Ensemble member Rajiv Joseph's epic thriller ricochets through place and time following the unlikely lives of seven individuals - soldiers and poets, KGB agents and babushkas - as they unearth mysteries buried by decades of history, fiction and blood.

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Audrey Francis, Glenn Davis, E.Brooke Flanagan

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Audrey Francis, Sally Murphy, Rajiv Joseph, Jon Michael Hill (kneeling), Yasen Peyankov, James Vincent Meredith, Celeste Cooper, Namir Smallwood, Alana Arenas, Glenn Davis (kneeling), Cliff Chamberlain, Austin Pendleton and Caroline Neff

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Eric Evenskaas with Lobby Patrons

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Celeste Cooper, Alana Arenas and Glenn Davis

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Namir Smallwood and Rajiv Joseph

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Austin Pendleton with audience members

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Interior of the Ensemble Theater at Steppewolf

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
James Vincent Meredith, Caroline Neff, Yasen Peyankov, Sally Murphy, Jack Cain, Charence Higgins, Glenn Davis and Jon Hudson Odom

Photos: Go Inside Opening Night of DESCRIBE THE NIGHT at Steppenwolf Theatre
Glenn Davis, Rajiv Joseph, Audrey Francis, Austin Pendleton, E. Brooke Flanagan




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