Little Bear Ridge Road

Last updated
Little Bear Ridge Road
Written by Samuel D. Hunter
CharactersSarah, sixties
Ethan, early to mid thirties
James, late twenties or early thirties
Paulette, forties or fifties
Date premiered2024
Place premiered Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Original languageEnglish
SubjectDrama
SettingNorth Idaho, 2020-2022

Little Bear Ridge Road is a play written by Samuel D. Hunter. The play, set in the outskirts of Troy, Idaho, tells the story of an estranged nephew and his aunt who reunite at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to settle their estate of their deceased father and brother, respectively. Though emotionally distant, they find themselves drawn to care for each other. [1] [2]

Contents

Characters

Production history

Origins

Commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre Company as a vehicle for Laurie Metcalf's return to her hometown theater, the play was workshopped at Steppenwolf in Chicago, Illinois in 2023. [4] It won the 2024 Jeff Award for New Work. [5]

Hunter stated that his initial point of inspiration for Little Bear Ridge Road was to write a play about people watching television, and that the pandemic setting was only added once he started writing the play in 2023, reflecting how "we all retreated to our screens" when the COVID-19 pandemic began. [6]

According to Hunter, he decided to focus on the relationship between an aunt and nephew mourning a patriarch, as opposed to that of a mother and son, because "I've never really seen this relationship explored specifically in a play." He stated that specificity of Sarah and Ethan's relationship "could be really close, or almost strangers." [6]

Staging

The play had its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The cast, directed by Joe Mantello, included Laurie Metcalf as Sarah and Micah Stock as Ethan. [7]

Mantello described Hunter's work as "really theatrical" and "a kind of particular quiet genius", but that he "[doesn't] know how he does it." [8]

Reception

Steven Oxman wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times : "This is a deeply beautiful piece of writing, bleakly funny, poetic in its plainness, aching in its intense empathy for the characters". [9] Another reviewer, Karen Topham, wrote: "Little Bear Ridge Road is everything theatre should be and everything Steppenwolf always was". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Metcalf</span> American actress (born 1955)

Laura Elizabeth Metcalf is an American actress and comedian. Known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning more than four decades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Cole</span> American actor (born 1956)

Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series Midnight Caller (1988–1991). Further prominent television roles include American Gothic (1995–1996), The West Wing (2003–2006), The Good Wife (2010–2016), Veep (2013–2019), and NCIS (2021–present). Cole's voice roles include Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Family Guy (2000–present), Kim Possible (2002–2007), Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010–2013), and Bob's Burgers (2012–present). His most notable film roles are The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and Office Space (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steppenwolf Theatre Company</span> Theater and theater company in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on Halsted Street. The theatre's name comes from Hermann Hesse's novel Steppenwolf, which original member Rick Argosh was reading during the company's inaugural production of Paul Zindel's play, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, in 1974. After occupying several theatres in Chicago, in 1991, it moved into its own purpose-built complex with three performing spaces, the largest seating 550.

Balm in Gilead is a 1965 American play written by American playwright Lanford Wilson.

Kevin Anderson is an American stage and film actor. He is also a singer and drummer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Pendleton</span> American actor (born 1940)

Austin Campbell Pendleton is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor.

Sheldon Arthur Patinkin was a chair of the Theater Department of Columbia College Chicago, artistic director of the Getz Theater of Columbia College, Artistic Consultant of The Second City and of Steppenwolf Theatre and co-director of the Steppenwolf Theatre Summer Ensemble Workshops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Letts</span> American actor and screenwriter

Tracy S. Letts is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for August: Osage County (2007), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. As an actor, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the Broadway revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2013).

November is a play written by David Mamet which premiered on Broadway in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Norris (playwright)</span> American dramatist

Bruce Norris is an American character actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. His play Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Detroit is a play by Lisa D'Amour. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer and Susan Smith Blackburn Prizes. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2010 and subsequently ran Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in fall 2012. The play won the Obie Award for Best New American Play in 2013.

<i>The Other Place</i> (play) Play written by Sharr White

The Other Place is a play by American playwright Sharr White. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 2011 and then ran on Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Coon</span> American actress (born 1981)

Carrie Alexandra Coon is an American actress. On television, she has starred as grieving mother Nora Durst in the HBO drama series The Leftovers (2014–2017) and Gloria Burgle in the third season of the FX anthology series Fargo (2017). She won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress for The Leftovers and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for Fargo. She also starred in the second season of the anthology drama series The Sinner (2018) and has played an aspiring socialite in the HBO period drama series The Gilded Age since 2022. For her work in The Gilded Age, she received another Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Airline Highway is an American play, written by Lisa D'Amour and set in New Orleans. Commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the play made its Broadway debut in April 2015. It received four Tony Award nominations, including Best Featured Actor in a Play for K. Todd Freeman and Best Featured Actress in a Play for Julie White. Additionally, it received three Drama Desk Award nominations, winning one for Freeman. Its final performance was on June 7, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Hnath</span> American playwright

Lucas Hnath is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays Red Speedo and The Christians. He also won a Whiting Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Metcalf on screen and stage</span> Performances of American actress Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf is an American actress known for her performances on stage and screen.

<i>King James</i> (play) 2022 play by Rajiv Joseph

King James is a play written by Rajiv Joseph, which premiered in March 2022 at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, under the direction of Kenny Leon. The play's action is launched when two characters meet: Matt, a Cleveland bartender with Cavaliers tickets he needs to sell, and Shawn, a writer who has recently published a short story and wants to buy tickets for the Cleveland Cavaliers 2003–2004 season – the first season with LeBron James playing.

Domesticated is a 2013 comic-drama play from Bruce Norris. The play follows politician Bill Pulvar and his wife Judy as they navigate a sex scandal.

<i>The Devil Wears Prada</i> (musical) American stage musical

The Devil Wears Prada is a musical based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger as well as the 2006 film of the same name with a screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna. The musical has music by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick, and a book by Kate Wetherhead.

<i>Grey House</i> (play) 2019 play by Levi Holloway

Grey House is a dramatic stage play written by American playwright Levi Holloway. The play premiered at the A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago on December 1, 2019, and debuted on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on May 30, 2023, starring Tatiana Maslany, Paul Sparks, and Laurie Metcalf.

References

  1. ↑ Vitello, Barbara (2024-06-27). "Classic Steppenwolf: Exceptional 'Little Bear Ridge Road' reveals Chicago theater at the height of its powers". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  2. ↑ "2024 Equity Nominees". The Joseph Jefferson Awards. Archived from the original on 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  3. ↑ Morgan, Scott C. (2024-06-26). "THEATER Metcalf adds to Steppenwolf's 'Little Bear Ridge Road' luster". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  4. ↑ Steppenwolf Theatre Company (2024-07-19). Laurie Metcalf & Joe Mantello | Little Bear Ridge Road . Retrieved 2024-10-14– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "2024 Equity Jeff Awards: Marriott's 'Beautiful' and Steppenwolf plays are big winners". Chicago Tribune. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  6. 1 2 Steppenwolf Theatre Company (2024-05-31). Samuel D. Hunter on Little Bear Ridge Road . Retrieved 2024-10-14– via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "Little Bear Ridge Road". www.steppenwolf.org. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  8. ↑ Steppenwolf Theatre Company (2024-07-19). Laurie Metcalf & Joe Mantello | Little Bear Ridge Road . Retrieved 2024-10-14– via YouTube.
  9. ↑ Oxman, Steven (2024-06-24). "Stellar cast, captivating writing combine for brilliant 'Little Bear Ridge Road'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  10. ↑ Topham, Karen (2024-07-06). "Little Bear Ridge Road is everything theatre should be and everything Steppenwolf always was |". Chicago Onstage. Archived from the original on 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.