Ensemble member Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere of “Little Bear Ridge Road.” (Michael Brosilow)
Steppenwolf Theatre commissioned a powerful new play receiving the strongest reviews of the summer on the Chicago stage.
“Little Bear Ridge Road” stars Laurie Metcalf in her return to Steppenwolf after a 14-year absence. An often funny yet piercing drama, the play concerns an estranged aunt and nephew left to pick up the pieces of a broken family.
The show was directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello (“Wicked,” “Assassins”) who has directed Metcalf five times previously. It was written by playwright Samuel D. Hunter, whose play “The Whale” became the Oscar-winning film with Brendan Fraser.
Metcalf, of course, is royalty among actors in Chicago. As a charter member of Steppenwolf Theatre, the native of Edwardsville, Illinois, has made an indelible mark on stage and screen, with four Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Oscar Nomination (“Lady Bird”).
WTTW News spoke to Metcalf just as the reviews were trickling in.
WTTW News: Welcome back to Chicago. What’s it like to return to Steppenwolf?
Laurie Metcalf: I can’t believe it’s been so long since the last time I worked here. I knew coming in that it would be different, of course. It has to change. It has to evolve, but I can take a lot of pride in the fact that it is its own beast now. It’s carving its own path. It’s just fun to know that I played a role in that way back in the day and to still be able to participate is great.
‘Little Bear Ridge Road’ was commissioned by Steppenwolf and greenlit by the new artistic directors, Audrey Francis and Glenn Davis.
Metcalf: Yes, it was their idea to put me and director Joe Mantello together with the playwright, Sam Hunter, at a meeting in New York. Joe and I knew of his work but had never met him. He said he’d love to do something with us in mind and said he had a bit of an idea. Three months later, he turned in a script. And I have to say, not much of it changed. We tweaked it in rehearsals, but he pretty much nailed it right away.
Did you give him an indication of the kind of play you were looking for?
Metcalf: We were fans of his work, so we just said, ‘It’s up to you. Write what you want.’ There were no parameters at all, nothing about the size of the cast or what type of character I wanted to play or anything. It was all up to him.
Laurie Metcalf. (Saverio Truglia)
At this stage in your career, how do you approach a newly written role like the character you play, Sarah?
Metcalf: I always take my clues from the script itself. When I choose to work on something, I’ve already read it and I already know that it’s touched me in some way, so then I can be pretty sure that it can touch an audience. I just worked with clues from the play about how brusque Sarah is, and that she and her nephew have been estranged for so long that it’s basically starting a relationship over from scratch. It all stems from the words on the page for me because each bit of homework or research is going to be different character to character.
And how about the director, Joe Mantello? He can clearly direct a big show like ‘Wicked’ and then an intimate and funny drama such as this.
Metcalf: I think he’s the same way as me. He takes his cues from the script itself and tries to fine-tune what that particular play needs. He was intrigued by the bareness of it, the minimalist approach of it in the set design and also the characters — they’re very dry and honest and to the point. He knew, I think, that the trap of the show might be that it could become sentimental, and so he kept steering us against that, and I think it really pays off. Because it does have heart, but you don’t have to show it. You don’t have to highlight anything. In fact, it’s the characters trying to play opposite so strongly that gives it the heart that it has, I think.
It’s a small cast of four, and everyone is top-notch.
Metcalf: Actors Micah Stock and John Drea both came in to do the workshop — we did a workshop half a year ago, and that’s where the playwright did some tweaking. Micah and John were hired to do the workshop without being promised the roles, but Joe was so taken with both of them that he just hired them on the spot. It’s been sort of a lovefest in the rehearsal room and backstage. It’s a really tight ensemble, and it’s the kind of play that is so fun to deliver to an audience. All of us feel that way, and we’re all really attached to it. We do the play and then we check in with each other afterwards and talk about it, talk about how the audience was and little surprises that happened that night. I think it’s a real beautiful fit for that Steppenwolf mainstage. It just sits so perfectly on that stage.
Ensemble member Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere of “Little Bear Ridge Road.” (Michael Brosilow)
You grew up in Edwardsville in southern Illinois. What were you like as a young person?
Metcalf: I was pretty shy, and I got the nerve up to audition for a play in high school and I got into it. It didn’t cure my shyness, but it gave me a creative outlet. I took to it right off the bat, but I never thought that I would make a living at it. So I went to college, not majoring in theater, but then fell in with all the friends that started Steppenwolf together.
Did working in theater affect your approach to TV work or vice versa?
Metcalf: To me, it’s two different things. Even though in sitcoms you have a live audience, it’s still very different. Because I started out in theater, it’s where I feel the most comfortable and feel like I know what I’m doing more. Later I got to learn on the fly the rules for TV and movies. I mean, everything in your performance still stays as grounded as it can be, but there are calibrations to be found. I’m still not comfortable with a camera in my face, and that’s why I know I’ll always come back to theater. That’s where I feel the most in control and in charge.
The play has just been extended to Aug. 4 What’s next for you?
Metcalf: The final six episodes of ‘The Connors.’ That’s going to end our season for us. So I’ll be done the first week of October. After that, I have no idea!
There has been much change at Steppenwolf in the past few years — a new theater, the loss of ensemble members. Does it still feel like family to you?
Metcalf: It does. I did a lot of plays on that stage even though I don’t know the majority of the people who work in the building anymore, but it does still feel like home. And Chicago itself always will. I’m embarrassed that I’ve been away for as long as I have, and I wanted to correct that. It’s been such a great experience.
