Your Chicago Guide’s tickets for two to the press viewing of Topdog/Underdog courtesy of the Steppenwolf Theatre Co.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company kicked off its 51st season with the revival of Topdog/Underdog, featuring ensemble members Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood. The two-man play is currently on stage for a limited engagement through November 1st, 2026. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks, Topdog/Underdog is a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, helmed by Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon.
Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood go head-to-head in this highly-anticipated revival, more than two decades after the company’s celebrated 2003 production. Brothers Lincoln and Booth, named in jest, are two Black men living in America just trying to get by. Lincoln dresses like his namesake, reenacting his assassination for money and laughs. Booth stays stuck in their apartment, working tirelessly on his three-card hustle. Sibling rivalry and a lifetime of resentment come to a violent head in this fast-paced and ferocious thrill ride. “Take the cards and show me whatcha got!”
Once a master of the street hustle three-card monte, Lincoln (Topdog) retired from the game after a fellow player was killed. He now works a dead-end job dressing up as Abraham Lincoln in an arcade, where customers pay to act out his assassination. The younger brother Booth (Underdog) is an ambitious, petty thief and aspiring con artist who desperately wants Lincoln to teach him the secrets of three-card monte. Haunted by childhood abandonment and systemic poverty, the brothers clash over money, women, and past trauma, culminating in a tragic and fatal final confrontation.
The story is tense at times and darkly funny at others. The guys show brotherly love for the most part but when the tension rises, they hit their boiling points . The technical aspect of this production is very well done, and the acting is remarkable.
Is this play light viewing? Indeed it isn’t. It is poignant, and dark, and brooding, and cruel. Is it worth seeing though? Yes. Humanity is complex, full of ups and downs. The play will take you to the high highs,and then callously drop you to the lowest low. And isn’t that how life usually is? The ending is abrupt and shocking. And then there is nothing to be done…
Topdog/Underdog is currently on stage at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre, 1650 North Halsted Street, in Chicago’s Clybourn Corridor neighborhood. Tickets sold here