Photos: Inside Opening Night of LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE at Steppenwolf Theater

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 47th season with the Chicago premiere of Donnetta Lavinia Grays' Last Night and the Night Before, a moving exploration of love - Black, queer, familial - and what must be sacrificed to raise a child.

Check out photos from opening night below!

Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, Last Night and the Night Before will play April 6 - May 14, 2023 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theater, 1650 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Single tickets starting at $20 are now on sale at steppenwolf.org or the Box Office at (312) 335-1650. The press opening is Sunday, April 16 at 6 pm.

Last Night and the Night Before features ensemble member Namir Smallwood with Ayanna Bria Bakari, Sydney Charles, Kylah Renee Jones, Aliyana Nicole and Jessica Dean Turner.

Monique and her daughter Sam are on the run. From what, they will not say. Showing up on their family's doorstep in Brooklyn, the surprise visit raises more questions than it answers. As the specter of their abandoned life in Georgia creeps back into focus, the family is forced to consider what must be sacrificed to raise a child in an often-cruel world. Donnetta Lavinia Grays's heartbreaking and poetic portrait of love - Black, queer, familial - is a bold tribute to the enduring promise of tomorrow.

The creative team includes Regina García (Scenic Design), Izumi Inaba (Costume Design), Mary Louise Geiger (Lighting Design), Larry Fowler (Sound Design), Kirsten Baity (Intimacy Choreographer), Maya Vinice Prentiss (Fight Choreographer), Gigi Buffington (Company Voice, Text & Dialect Coach), Tom Pearl (Producing Director), JC Clementz, CSA (Casting Director), Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager) and Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager).

Photo Credit: Kyle Flubacker