| Little Bear Ridge Road | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Samuel D. Hunter |
| Characters | Sarah, sixties Ethan, early to mid thirties James, late twenties or early thirties Paulette, forties or fifties |
| Date premiered | 2024 |
| Place premiered | Steppenwolf Theatre Company |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Drama |
| Setting | North 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]
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]
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. The set was designed by Scott Pask, costumes by Jessica Pabst, lighting by Heather Gilbert, sound by Mikhail Fiksel, dramaturgy by John M. Baker, and casting by JC Clementz. [7]
Joe Mantello will direct a 2025 Broadway production with Laurie Metcalf returning as Sarah. [8]
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." [4]
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]