STUNNING AND UNSETTLING, MR. WOLF IS AT THE DOOR

Steppenwolf Theatre’s Chicago premiere of Mr. Wolf is a searing examination of parental sacrifice, loss, and the elusive nature of home. Under K. Todd Freeman’s direction, this production takes what could be an exploitative premise and instead delivers something hopeful and profound.

Caroline Neff, Namir Smallwood, Tim Hopper, Emilie Maureen Hanson and Kate Arrington

Twelve years ago, Theresa (now 15) was stolen from her parents by Mr. Wolf, an astronomy professor with grand dreams of the world. As she is rescued and returned to her parents, who had nearly given up hope, she finds herself without the place or the person she had come to know as home. Surrounded by people she doesn’t understand, Theresa copes by asking questions and prodding old wounds.

Emilie Maureen Hanson, Namir Smallwood and Kate Arrington

Steppenwolf Ensemble member Rajiv Joseph is already well-known for playwriting excellence with Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama), Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night (both Obie winners), to name a few. It comes as no surprise, then, that Mr. Wolf is expertly written. The dialogue moves with precision and purpose, like a drumbeat with dance-like exchanges that build to percussive climaxes. Each beat reveals new depths of pain and grasps for connection, never allowing the audience to get comfortable.

Tim Hopper, Emilie Maureen Hanson

The company of actors delivers Joseph’s words with bold, unflinching bravery. Kate Arrington plays Hana, Theresa’s estranged mother; Caroline Neff is Julie, the stepmother trying to piece together a fractured family; and Namir Smallwood portrays Michael, the father caught between grief and hope. Each inhabits their character’s pain with authenticity, at times letting their anguish wash over everything. In one particularly devastating moment, when Julie loses her composure, Ms. Neff unleashes her grief, snapping her teeth at Theresa on the couch beside her with such ferocity that the room seems to hold its collective breath.

Caroline Neff, Emilie Maureen Hanson

Emilie Maureen Hanson faces perhaps the production’s greatest acting challenge as Theresa, a girl conditioned in captivity to believe herself a prophet. Hanson delivers a specific and convincing performance as a young woman who has learned to protect herself with an arsenal of intellectual curiosity. Her portrayal never exploits the character’s trauma for sympathy, instead presenting Theresa as a complex individual struggling to reconcile competing versions of reality. Tim Hopper portrays Mr. Wolf (and others), conveying a barely controlled desperation as he tries to shape Theresa into his protégé.

Tim Hopper, Emilie Maureen Hanson

Walt Spangler’s scenic design seizes on the theme of what makes a home, using the very architecture of a house as metaphorical language. Mr. Wolf’s residence presents itself as a sanctuary for learning with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, defined walls, proper doors, closets, entryways, rugs, and light fixtures. When the world comes for Theresa, the only home she’s ever known is torn apart. Literally. Spangler orchestrates a breathtaking physical dissolution: bookshelves flying off stage left, walls disappearing stage right, doors ascending into darkness. Every subsequent location consists merely of platform floors with furniture, never again achieving the completeness of that first, lost home.

Kate Arrington, Caroline Neff

Dede Ayite‘s costume choices prove equally thoughtful, particularly her decision to dress Theresa in a bright purple coat, colorful blue and pink shoes, and jeans adorned with small, embroidered flowers. These youthful details emphasize the character’s preserved innocence while connecting visually to her chalk-drawn universe.

Caroline Neff, Kate Arrington, Namir Smallwood, Emilie Maureen Hanson

Steppenwolf Theatre continues its tradition of championing bold new American voices with this Chicago Premiere. Mr. Wolf succeeds as both a visceral theatrical experience and a thoughtful meditation on family, grief, and our place in the universe. Rather than sensationalizing the story of Theresa’s abduction, Joseph focuses on the aftermath—what something like this does to a family, and ultimately, how they find their way back to connection.

Namir Smallwood, Kate Arrington

photos by Michael Brosilow

Emilie Maureen Hanson, Tim Hopper

Mr. Wolf
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.
85 minutes, no intermission
ends on November 2, 2025
Tues-Fri at 7:30; Sat at 3 & 7:30; Sun at 3; (check for dark dates)
for tickets ($20–$136.50), call 312.335.1650 or visit Steppenwolf

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago