Theatre News Wire

Steep Theatre Company's Tenth Season continues on January 20th, 2011, with David Mamet's Lakeboat. This production will mark the first time Steep has tackled the work of this vastly influential playwright. It is an exciting pairing of one of Chicago's most exciting companies with one of the most distinctive and defining artists in Chicago theater history. Company member G.J. Cederquist returns home to Steep for the first time since 2006 to direct the production.

Sex, booze, and ballet are the topics bandied about by the crew on the lakeboat T. Harrison as it freights materials from Chicago to Duluth. Mr. Mamet's ear and iconic voice sift through the tedium of ship life to offer a glimpse into the soul of these men. This semi-autobiographical piece was inspired by Mr. Mamet's stint as a steward on a Great Lakes freighter in the mid-1960s. Lakeboat was first produced in 1970 at the Theatre Workshop at Marlboro College and
received its first professional production in 1980 at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

G.J. Cederquist directed past Steep hits The Night Heron, Catch-22, and Dealer's Choice. He works extensively in opera and music theatre and is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists. Cederquist trained at Northwestern (M.F.A. in Directing), Wolf Trap, and Yale University. Other directing credits include You Took My Flag Away (Theatre Building Chicago), No Exit (Chicago Opera Vanguard), Reagan's Children (Chicago Opera Vanguard), La Sonnambula (Asst. Director, Metropolitan Opera), Alcina (A.D., Wolf Trap), and Die Entfuhriung Aus Dem Serail (A.D., Chicago Opera Theatre).

Lakeboat will feature Steep Company Members Alex Gillmor, Peter Moore, and Jim Poole and past Steep collaborators Sean Bolger (The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, The Hollow Lands) and Nick Horst (A Brief History of Helen of Troy). Jason Lindner, Eric Roach, and Norm Woodel will be making their Steep debuts.

Steep Company Member Pete Dully will design lights for the production and Costume Designer Emily McConnell (In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, The Hollow Lands) and Set Designer Dan Stratton (Kill the Old Torture Their Young) both return to Steep's Design Team. Jeff Award- Winning Sound Designer Miles Polaski and Props Designer Sarah Burnham will be working with Steep for the first time.

Steep Theatre Company has become known in the Chicago arts community as a home for hardhitting, finely tuned ensemble work. The company was named the 2010 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theatre Award Winner and its U.S. Premiere of Simon Stephens' Harper Regan was recently named one of the "Top Ten Shows of 2010" by the Chicago Tribune and Timeout Chicago. Over the years, Steep productions have been named to Timeout Chicago's "Top Ten Shows of the Year" list four times, the Chicago Tribune's "Best of the Fringe" list twice, and WBEZ's top ten shows of the decade. In five years of Jeff Eligibility, Steep has received 9 Jeff Nominations and has won the 2009 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble (In Arabia We'd All Be Kings) and the 2010 Jeff Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Kendra Thulin, Harper Regan).

Lakeboat runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8pm from Thursday, January 20th to February 26th. Tickets range from $20-$22. Reservations can be made by calling (866) 811-4111 or by visiting www.steeptheatre.com. Steep Theatre is conveniently located by the Berwyn Red Line stop and is within blocks of the #92, #36, #146, #147, and #151 buses.