Fresh off her critically acclaimed and Tony-nominated run in Broadway's Days of Wine and Roses, Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Mark Cortale are pleased to present Tony Award winner and musical theatre icon Kelli O'Hara with Music Director Dan Lipton, performing a program of beloved American Songbook classics and modern Broadway favorites. O'Hara will play three performances only April 18 & 19, 2025 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Tickets ($89 - $139) are now on sale at steppenwolf.org/kelliohara or by calling the Box Office at (312) 335-1650.

Hailed by the New York Times as "Broadway musical's undisputed queen," O'Hara will perform highlights from her incredible body of work which spans twelve Broadway productions. In addition to riveting musical performances, O'Hara will share stories and personal memories drawn from her landmark stage career in an intimate setting.

Performance schedule:

Friday, April 18, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 3 pm
Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 7:30 pm

About the Artists:

Kelli O'Hara has established herself as one of Broadway's greatest leading ladies. The Tony Award winner, Emmy, SAG and Grammy-nominated actress has appeared in twelve Broadway shows for which she has garnered eight Tony Award nominations.

She won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Grammy, Drama League and Outer Critics nominations for her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in The King and I. O'Hara's other Broadway credits include Kiss Me Kate, The Bridges of Madison County, Nice Work if You Can Get It, South Pacific, The Pajama Game, The Light in the Piazza, Sweet Smell of Success, Follies, Dracula and Jekyll & Hyde.

O'Hara received an Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Katie Bonner in Topic's hit web series, The Accidental Wolf, and can currently be seen on HBO's The Gilded Age, which was nominated for a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Season 2. Additional film and television credits include Showtime's Master of Sex, 13 Reasons Why, Blue Bloods, All My Children, All the Bright Places, Peter Pan Live!, Sex & The City 2, Martin Scorsese's The Key to Reserva, The Good Fight, N3mbers and Car Talk.

In 2015, she made history as the first artist to make the crossover from Broadway to Opera when she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Lehar's The Merry Widow opposite Renee Fleming and in 2018 returned as Despina in Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. She was last seen at The Metropolitan Opera in the world premiere of Kevin Puts' The Hours, as Laura Brown, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording.

O'Hara is a frequent performer on PBS's live telecasts, The Kennedy Center Honors and performs often alongside The New York Philharmonic and The New York Pops. Along with her two Grammy nominations, her solo albums, Always and Wonder in the World, are available on Ghostlight.

O'Hara recently completed a critically-acclaimed limited Broadway engagement of the new musical Days of Wine and Roses, which also garnered rave reviews during its Off-Broadway run at The Atlantic Theatre Company last summer. She won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical in addition to receiving Tony and Drama League Nominations for her role. Upcoming projects include Season 3 of The Gilded Age.

Dan Lipton conducted The Band's Visit and Sting's musical The Last Ship on Broadway. He's arranged music and led bands for Sutton Foster, Kelli O'Hara, Mandy Gonzalez, Brian d'Arcy James, Judy Kuhn, John Lithgow, Martha Plimpton and Audra McDonald, performing at the White House, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, on Live with Kelly Ripa, The Today Show, PBS Great Performances, Late Show with David Letterman and with major symphony orchestras across the country.

Music supervision and orchestrations: An Officer and a Gentleman (U.S. tour), The Other Josh Cohen (Off-Broadway), The Drama Desk Awards. Music direction and onstage musician: Twyla Tharp's How Long Blues (Little Island) under T Bone Burnett, The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard (Broadway), The Bridge Project (BAM, Old Vic) with Ethan Hawke directed by Sam Mendes, Herringbone with BD Wong directed by Roger Rees (La Jolla Playhouse).

He scored the feature film All These Small Moments (Orion Classics) starring Molly Ringwald and provided music for the podcasts Arts Educators Save the World (Story Pirates) and The Key of Love (Emerald Audio Network) from bestselling author Jenna Blum.

Pianist on three Grammy-nominated albums, he can be heard on piano in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video) and Rebecca Hall's award-winning film Passing (Netflix). His latest collection of jazz-pop covers with singer Colby Beserra, Jukebox Saloon Vol. 2, is streaming everywhere.

Accessibility:

Steppenwolf is committed to making the theatergoing experience accessible to everyone. Assistive listening devices (ALDs) are available for every performance and all our spaces are equipped with an induction hearing loop. Our building features wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, push-button entrances, a courtesy wheelchair and all-gender restrooms, with accessible counter and table spaces at our bars. For additional information regarding accessibility, visit steppenwolf.org/access. If you have questions or would like to make a specific request, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call our box office at 312-335-1650.

Sponsor Information:

United Airlines is the Official and Exclusive Airline of Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf salutes lead sponsors Allstate Insurance Company, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, Caroline and Keating Crown, Good Chaos, John Hart and Carol Prins, Joyce Foundation, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Northern Trust, Anne and Don Phillips, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Inc, Walder Foundation, and Zell Family Foundation. Steppenwolf also acknowledges generous support from premier sponsors ArentFox Schiff, Andrew and Amy Bluhm, Ann and Richard Carr, Chicago Community Trust, Conagra Brands Foundation, Steven and Nancy Crown,  CRC Group, Julius Frankel Foundation, FROST CHICAGO, Kirkland & Ellis, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Orlebeke Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Sacks Family Foundation, Smart Family Foundation of Illinois, Gary Sinise Foundation, and Vinci Restaurant. Steppenwolf also acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.   

About the Presenters:

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is the nation's premier Ensemble Theater with 49 members who are among the top actors, playwrights and directors in the field. Thrilling, powerful, groundbreaking productions — from Balm in Gilead and Grapes of Wrath to August: Osage County, Downstate and The Brother/Sister Plays — have made this theatre legendary. Founded in 1976, Steppenwolf started as a group of teens performing in the basement of a church. Today, the company's artistic force remains rooted in the original vision of its founders: an artist-driven theatre, whose vitality is defined by its appetite for bold and innovative work. Every aspect of Steppenwolf is rooted in its Ensemble ethos, from the intergenerational artistic programming to the multi-genre performance series LookOut, to the nationally recognized work of Steppenwolf Education and Engagement which serves nearly 15,000 teens annually. While grounded in the Chicago community, more than 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success nationally and internationally, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London, Sydney, Galway and Dublin. Steppenwolf also holds accolades that include the National Medal of Arts, 12 Tony Awards, and more. Led by Artistic Directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, Executive Director E. Brooke Flanagan and Board of Trustees Chair, Keating Crown —Steppenwolf continually redefines the landscape of acting and performance.

Steppenwolf's Mission: Steppenwolf strives to create thrilling, courageous and provocative art in a thoughtful and inclusive environment. We succeed when we disrupt your routine with experiences that spark curiosity, empathy and joy. We invite you to join our ensemble as we navigate, together, our complex world. steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre, twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr and instagram.com/steppenwolfthtr.

Mark Cortale is currently lead producing Table 17 by Douglas Lyons starring Tony Award Winner Kara Young that opened Off-Broadway at MCC on September 6, as well as the Broadway musical Floyd Collins by Adam Guettel and Tina Landau that opens at Lincoln Center Theater on April 21, 2025 at The Beaumont. Last season Mark produced the critically acclaimed three-time Tony nominated new musical Days of Wine and Roses starring Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James, with music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, book by Craig Lucas and directed by Michael Greif. He also produced the Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominated Off-Broadway musical Midnight at the Never Get by Mark Sonnenblick in 2018. He recently celebrated his twelfth and final season as Producing Artistic Director of The Art House in Provincetown where he presented artists that included Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Jessie Mueller, Christine Ebersole and Megan Mullally. Mark is the Producing Artistic Director of the developmental theatre lab New Works Provincetown which he founded in 2020. In conjunction with producing partners Jonathan Murray and Harvey Reese, he has commissioned five works to date including the following shows currently in development: Maiden Voyage with book and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Carmel Dean, Beautiful Little Fool with book by Mona Mansour and music and lyrics by Hannah Corneau, Love is Strange, with book by Craig Lucas, music by Daniel Messé and lyrics by Nathan Tysen & Daniel Messé and Table 17 by Douglas Lyons.