Adirondack Chair Circle at Steppenwolf | Chicago Theater Review Podcast

Three suburban mothers meet to plan the removal of offensive books from the local high school in the world premiere of Adirondack Chair Circle by Chicago playwright Stephanie Alison Walker at Steppenwolf Theatre Company directed by Pam MacKinnon.

The women at times voice what might be construed as valid concerns while simultaneously undermining themselves by revealing their unwillingness to consider other positions and exposing their unpopular homophobic and hypocritical ideas.

The action volleys back-and-forth between the backyard Adirondack chairs and a pickleball court. The subplot of pickleball is a metaphor for the intellectual competition playing out and the importance of winning.

A well written, nicely performed, thought provoking play.

Cast: David Darrow, Katrina Lenk, Wendy Mateo, Caroline Neff, Sadieh Rifai.

Adirondack Chair Circle is at Steppenwolf Theatre, 1646 N. Halsted Street in Chicago through December 13, 2026. Runtime is about 2 1/2 hours with a 15-minute intermission. For tickets and information visit steppenwolf.org or call the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

Click listen to entire podcast theater review by Reno Lovison. (approx. 4 minutes)