Your Chicago Guide’s tickets for two to the press viewing of Sanctuary City courtesy of Steppenwolf Theatre.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company opened its 48th season with the Chicago premiere of Sanctuary City. From Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok, it is harrowing and hopeful tale of immigration and young love, directed by Steph Paul. Sanctuary City features Grant Kennedy Lewis, Brandon Rivera and Jocelyn Zamudio.
2001. Newark, NJ. Two teenagers, brought to America as children, now face an uneasy question: what are they willing to risk for a future together in the only country they’ve known? The simple joys of coming-of-age are challenged by the uncertainty of their next chapters. Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok brings light to the sacrifices made by immigrants, lovers and lifelong friends in the heart-stirring and hopeful Sanctuary City. It is a story that fractures time and transcends memory, crossing boundaries, borders and genres in search of a place to call home.
What if the lines of your life are blurred by the actions of some politicians you have never met? Your American dream dashed by someone’s prejudice? How would you feel, living on the edge of sanity, waiting fearfully for the uncertain future to come?
“Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these the homeless tempest-tost to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
What if you felt that the torch of the Statue of Liberty does not shine for you? Then what? How far would you go for the American Dream? Maybe more importantly, how far would those who profess to love you go? Consider these questions, as you pass asylum seekers, crowding the streets of Chicago, our own Sanctuary City.
Says playwright Martyna Majok: “At its core, Sanctuary City is about a great love and deep friendship – a personal, human story of connection tested by something political. The characters are composites of people I know, combinations of aspects of people I grew up with or people I’ve been. Sanctuary City invites an audience into that world at that specific time in history – which I think more and more feels like the time we’re living in now.”
Sanctuary City is the first Steppenwolf production that includes both a full Membership Series run and a full run of student matinees. As part of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults series, it provides a synergistic opportunity to cultivate more intergenerational audiences. Student matinees will take place at 10 am on weekdays from October 23 – November 17, 2023. Tickets are $5 for students, and chaperones are free. To register your school, click here. Sanctuary City is recommended for grades eight and up. Throughout the full run, tickets start at $5 for teens through the Teen Arts Pass, and regular tickets are $15 for college students.
In addition to student matinees, being a part of Steppenwolf Young Adults series means that Sanctuary City will have a robust study guide created by Steppenwolf’s education staff. There will also be pre-show events for teens hosted by the company’s teen council and several intergenerational community events with partner organizations across Chicago. For more information, visit steppenwolf.org/education. Taking the community outreach even further, throughout the run of Sanctuary City, Steppenwolf is partnering with Community Care Collective, a mutual aid network based in the 33rd Ward, to help provide food for Chicago’s new migrant arrivals. Patrons are encouraged to bring non-perishable, ready-to-consume goods to Steppenwolf, or to donate online.
Sanctuary City is currently on stage at the Steppenwolf Ensemble Theatre, 1646 North Halsted Street, in Chicago’s Clybourn Corridor neighborhood. Tickets are on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.