Steppenwolf ensemble member Yasen Peyankov has been working on his adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” since 2008. As the opener of the new 400-seat theater in the $53 million Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center, it’s been in the works since pre-COVID days. When the long-gestating production finally opened over the weekend one thing was clear: The wait was worth it.
But before we get to the spare, nuanced, emotionally crystalline staging adapted and directed by Peyankov for the new in-the-round Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, a word about the sprawling new center that culminates Steppenwolf’s multi-year, $73 million expansion of its 1650 N. Halsted St. campus.
