Michael McKean to Star in Steppenwolf Mounting of Tracy Letts' Next Play

Michael McKean has signed on to star in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's forthcoming world premiere of Superior Donuts, the latest work by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts August: Osage County. The play will begin previews at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre in Chicago on June 19, with an opening date of June 29, and will run through August 17. Steppenwolf ensemble member Tina Landau is set to direct.

In addition to McKean, Superior Donuts will feature Steppenwolf ensemble members Jon Hill, Yasen Payankov and James Vincent Meredith.

Superior Donuts follows the story of Arthur Przybyszewski McKean, the proprietor of a run-down donut shop in uptown Chicago, and his lone employee, an African American teenager named Franco Wicks Hill, who dreams of changing the shop for the better. A provocative comedy, the play is about friendship, change and the challenges of embracing the past.

McKean just completed a run in the Broadway revival of The Homecoming and was featured in the 2006 revival of The Pajama Game. He made his Broadway debut in 1990's Accomplice and later played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. Best known as Lenny on the TV series Laverne and Shirley, McKean has made memorable appearances in the film comedies of Christopher Guest, including This Is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, For Your Consideration and A Mighty Wind, to which he contributed the Academy Award nominated song “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow.”

Letts was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his acclaimed work August: Osage County, which is currently running on Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. Letts also penned Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Additional works include Killer Joe and Bug.

Superior Donuts will include sets by Loy Arcenas, costumes by Ana Kuzmanic, lights by Christopher Akerlind and music/sound by Michael Bodeen and Edward Sobel.