Steppenwolf Theatre is about to get a lot bigger — and smaller.
The celebrated theater company in Lincoln Park planned to break ground Tuesday for a $54 million expansion that will includes an “intimate” 400-seat theater-in-the-round.
“This is a monumental moment for us that is more than two decades in the making — built on the shoulders of the former leaders, the ensemble, the board, and the staff who have touched this project and together have made this vision a reality,” artistic director Anna D. Shapiro said in a statement. “The heart of Steppenwolf is that while the work may soar, our foundation is decidedly human scale, an ongoing celebration of discovering the extraordinary in the every day. The promise of this is what has kept people invested in this company for so long and what inspires our next steps.”
The new 50,000-square-foot building — which will also include a two-story atrium lobby, a wine bar, a sidewalk lounge and a “dedicated education floor” — is set to open in summer 2021.
The new facility, just south of the current theater on North Halsted, is part of multi-year expansion costing a total of $73 million, company officials said. The project began in 2016, with the completion of the 1700 Theatre and Front Bar. To date, the company has raised $46 million, they said.
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