Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s production of “Bug” is bound for Broadway.
Chicago actress and Steppenwolf ensemble member Carrie Coon, the recent HBO darling who has appeared in both “White Lotus” and “Gilded Age,” will revive her leading role in the psychological thriller. The play was written by Coon’s husband, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tracy Letts, in 1996.
After first premiering in London, “Bug” made its Midwest premiere in a 2001 Red Orchid production, starring Michael Shannon, who went on to star in the 2007 movie adaptation alongside Ashley Judd.
Coon first appeared in the role when “Bug” came to Steppenwolf in 2020. That production was quickly cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cast included Namir Smallwood, who will also reprise his role in the upcoming Broadway run; after the pandemic pause, Steppenwolf picked up the run 20 months later in 2021 as theaters slowly reopened.
The show unfolds in a grimy Oklahoma motel room where waitress Agnes White (Coon) lives between shifts. A current of terror runs through the close and cluttered quarters as Agnes and Peter (Smallwood) grow increasingly paranoid and conspiratorial.
The Broadway production will begin previews on Dec. 17 and then have its opening night on Jan. 8 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Along with Coon and Smallwood, the cast will be filled out by Jennifer Engstrom, Steve Key and Randall Arney, who all also appeared in the Steppenwolf production.
The show will once again be directed by David Cromer, a Tony-Award winner, who is originally from Skokie. Cromer, who was recently nominated for a Tony for his direction of “Dead Outlaw,” is also working with Letts on a James Taylor musical.
“Bug” is the latest in a string of Steppenwolf-driven projects that have recently gone on to Broadway, including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ highly successful family drama, “Purpose,” which won the Tony for Best Play in June. “Little Bear Ridge Road,” which premiered last summer at Steppenwolf with Laurie Metcalf in the lead, will also open on Broadway this fall. Letts won the Pulitzer in 2008 for his drama “August: Osage County,” which transferred to Broadway after premiering in Chicago at Steppenwolf in June 2007.
Courtney Kueppers is an arts and culture reporter at WBEZ.