Steppenwolf Theatre CoÂ's Clybourne Park Announces One-Week Extension

Due to popular demand, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is adding one additional week of performances to its critically-acclaimed production of Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park directed by ensemble member Amy Morton. A new block of tickets for performances November 8 - 13, 2011 goes on sale Friday, October 14 at 11 am.

Clybourne Park, featuring ensemble member James Vincent Meredith with Karen Aldridge, Cliff Chamberlain, Stephanie Childers, Kirsten Fitzgerald, John Judd and Brendan Marshall-Rashid, runs September 8 - November 13, 2011 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

On two separate afternoons, 50 years apart, a modest bungalow on Chicago's northwest side becomes a contested site in the politics of race. September 1959: Russ and Bev are moving out to the suburbs. They've inadvertently sold the house to the neighborhood's first black family and ignited a community showdown. September 2009: the neighborhood is ripe for gentrification and the house is again changing hands. This time to a young white couple with plans for demolition and a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. In a provocative nod to A Raisin in the Sun, longtime Steppenwolf collaborator Bruce Norris takes a hilarious look at what happens when home becomes a battleground.

Bruce Norris won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Clybourne Park. His other works at Steppenwolf include A Parallelogram, The Unmentionables, The Pain and the Itch, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, Purple Heart and The Infidel. An ensemble member since 1997, Amy Morton's many Steppenwolf directing credits include American Buffalo, Dublin Carol, The Weir, The Pillowman, Love-Lies-Bleeding (also Kennedy Center) and Glengarry Glen Ross (also Dublin and Toronto).

Steppenwolf's 2011/12 season, Dispatches from the Homefront, explores how everyday lives are touched by war. In each of the five plays, war exerts a pressure-sometimes centrally, sometimes obliquely-on the lives of the characters-and moves them to action. The plays are alive with the humor, the tenderness and the urgency of lives struggling to find home.

The production team for Clybourne Park includes: Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Nan Cibula-Jenkins (costume design), Pat Collins (lighting design) and Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen (sound design). Additional credits include: Erica Daniels (casting), Deb Styer (stage manager) and Michelle Medvin (assistant stage manager).

Title: Clybourne Park
Playwright: Bruce Norris
Director: Ensemble member Amy Morton
Featuring: Ensemble member James Vincent Meredith (Albert, Kevin) with Karen Aldridge (Francine, Lena), Cliff Chamberlain (Karl, Steve) Stephanie Childers (Betsy, Lindsey) Kirsten Fitzgerald (Bev, Kathy), John Judd (Russ, Dan) and Brendan Marshall-Rashid (Jim, Tom, Kenneth).

Location: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Dates: September 8 - November 13, 2011

Curtain Times: Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 pm
(Sunday evening performances through October 16 only)
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 pm
Wednesday matinees on October 19 & 26 and November 2.
Note: There will be a 7:30 pm performance on Sunday, November 13.

Ticket prices: $20-$75
20 for $20: Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11 am on the day of each performance (1 pm for Sunday performances).
Rush Tickets: Half-price and $15 student rush tickets are available one hour before each show.
Student Discounts: $15 student tickets are available online in advance using promo code: "PARK15."(Limit 2 tickets. Must present a valid student ID for each ticket). For additional student discounts, visit www.steppenwolf.org/students.

Audience Services: 1650 N. Halsted St., 312-335-1650
Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org.