I just received the following press release.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Announces 2008-2009 Subscription Season

CHICAGO (April 21, 2008) - Steppenwolf Theatre Company is pleased to announce its 2008-2009 Subscription Season, exploring the theme of the imagination. The season opens with Kafka on the Shore, adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati, based on the work by Haruki Murakami and featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan and Jon Hill. The season continues with The Seafarer by Conor McPherson, featuring ensemble member John Mahoney. Following The Seafarer is Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton. The fourth play is The Tempest by William Shakespeare, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau and featuring ensemble member Frank Galati. Closing the season is Up by Bridget Carpenter, directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro.

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS GO ON SALE TO THE PUBLIC FRIDAY, MARCH 7.

In addition to the Subscription Season, Steppenwolf will present a special engagement of Dublin Carol by critically-acclaimed playwright Conor McPherson, directed by Amy Morton and featuring William Petersen. Dublin Carol makes its Chicago premiere alongside McPherson’s The Seafarer. Tickets to Dublin Carol are currently available exclusively to Steppenwolf subscribers.

“We recognize our 2008-2009 Season as an exciting moment in our cultural life,” says Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey. “We are on the precipice of a change in our national leadership - America is dreaming of its future. Steppenwolf celebrates this moment with a season of the imagination. We offer five stories that feature the power of the imagination in shaping our identity, creating our future, determining our reality.”

Steppenwolf ensemble members currently confirmed for the 2008-2009 Season include: K, Todd Freeman, Frank Galati, Francis Guinan, Jon Hill, Tom Irwin, Tina Landau, John Mahoney, Amy Morton, Yasen Peyankov, Anna D. Shapiro, Rick Snyder and Alan Wilder.

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company 2008-2009 Subscription Season includes:

September 18 - November 16, 2008
Kafka on the Shore
Adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati
Based on the work by Haruki Murakami
Featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan and Jon Hill with Christine Bunuan, Gerson Dacanay, Mary Ann de la Cruz, Christopher Larkin, Aiko Nakasone, Andrew Pang, David Rhee and Lisa Tejero
In the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

A young boy’s coming of age parallels an old man’s search for destiny in a modern day Japan where the borders between everyday reality, dreams and imagination are constantly crossed. In this world premiere adaptation of the popular novel, encounter talking cats on the streets of Tokyo, World War II soldiers trapped in time, Colonel Sanders and Johnnie Walker. Experience the unexpected in this fantastical tale about waking up to your own life.

Tony Award-winner Frank Galati adapted and directed Haruki Murakami’s after the quake during Steppenwolf’s 2005-2006 Season. This critically-acclaimed production went on to successful runs at Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and Berkeley Rep. Haruki Murakami, author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles and other novels, is an award-winning writer whose work has been translated into 34 languages.

December 4, 2008 - February 8, 2009
The Seafarer
By Conor McPherson
Featuring ensemble members Francis Guinan, Tom Irwin, John Mahoney and Alan Wilder
In the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

It’s Christmas Eve in Dublin. In the rundown house where Sharky cares for his blind brother, old acquaintances gather for a card game-joined by an ominous stranger. As the booze flows and the game intensifies, Sharky discovers he is playing for his soul. In this eerie, darkly humorous tale, celebrated playwright Conor McPherson examines how we face the demons of our past as we struggle to find redemption.

Born in Dublin, playwright Conor McPherson won London’s prestigious Olivier Award for The Weir and received a Tony nomination for Shining City. The Seafarer makes its Chicago premiere following a critically-acclaimed Broadway run.

February 5 - June 7, 2009
Art
By Yasmina Reza
Directed by ensemble member Rick Snyder
Translated by Christopher Hampton
In the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre

Art explores the intricacies of a long-term friendship between three men. When one of them drops a fortune on a piece of modern art, his friends’ surprising reactions touch off a series of personal confrontations. This witty, intelligent and often funny play explores the power of art to engage the imagination and the enduring bonds of friendship.

French playwright Yasmina Reza won the 1997 Olivier Award and the 1998 Tony Award for Art, which has been produced worldwide and translated into over 30 languages. British playwright Christopher Hampton won an Academy Award for the screen adaptation of his play Dangerous Liaisons and was nominated for his adaptation of Atonement.

March 26 - May 31, 2009
The Tempest
By William Shakespeare
Directed by ensemble member Tina Landau
Featuring ensemble members K. Todd Freeman, Frank Galati, Jon Hill, Yasen Peyankov and Alan Wilder
In the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

In Shakespeare’s final work, Prospero is exiled to an enchanted island where he harnesses the powers of magic and masters the spirits that dwell there. His desire for revenge drives him to conjure a mighty storm trapping his enemies on the island. In our first Shakespeare production, Steppenwolf ensemble member Tina Landau re-imagines this magical tale of art, freedom and the transformative power of forgiveness.

Ensemble member Frank Galati returns to the stage as Prospero, his first performance at Steppenwolf since The Drawer Boy with John Mahoney in 2001. Tina Landau has been an ensemble member since 1997 and has staged such inspiring Steppenwolf productions as The Time of Your Life, Cherry Orchard and The Diary of Anne Frank.

June 18 - August 23, 2009
Up
By Bridget Carpenter
Directed by ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro
In the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre

On the best day of his life, Walter built a flying machine that reached the clouds. Ever since, he’s tried to invent new ways to fly while his wife keeps the family afloat. Up is a quirky, bittersweet tale about escaping the boundaries of the everyday and how we dream ourselves into a future.

Bridget Carpenter is an award-winning playwright whose works have been produced at theaters across the country including Arena Stage, Lincoln Center and the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Anna D. Shapiro directed Steppenwolf’s critically acclaimed production of August: Osage County, currently playing on Broadway.

Subscription Series packages start at $130. To purchase a Subscription Season package, contact Audience Services at 1650 N. Halsted, (312) 335-1650 or visit www.steppenwolf.org.

In addition to the Subscription Season, Steppenwolf will also present a special engagement of:

November 13 - December 21, 2008
Dublin Carol
By Conor McPherson
Directed by ensemble member Amy Morton
Featuring William Petersen
In the Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre
Tickets: $50 - $70 - currently available exclusively to Steppenwolf subscribers.
Single tickets will go on sale at a later date.

Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance in the subscription season.
Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.