The Chicago reviews are in for Topdog/Underdog, which opened Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 51st season at the end of September, 23 years after the company gave Suzan-Lori Parks’s Pulitzer Prize winner its Chicago premiere. Kenny Leon, who directed the Tony-winning Broadway revival, stages it with company members Glenn Davis as Lincoln and Namir Smallwood as Booth, two brothers sharing a single room and a long history. The notices are close to unanimous: critics praise the two performances above all, and the only reservations concern the length of the first act and how the climax is staged.
The verdict: 13 reviews so far, and not one of them is negative. The Chicago Sun-Times gives it its top rating of four stars, Around the Town Chicago gives it four, and the Chicago Reader, Newcity Stage and Buzz Center Stage all mark it recommended or highly recommended; the other outlets print no rating. Nearly every critic singles out the partnership of Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood.
What are critics saying about TOPDOG/UNDERDOG?
Chicago Sun-Times
"Steppenwolf’s intense ‘Topdog/Underdog’ gives a layered look at a sibling rivalry"
Reviewer: Steven Oxman · 4 out of 4 stars
Steven Oxman calls it an outstanding production that plays the story as psychological naturalism, with the theatrical flourishes kept to the ends of scenes and the gold curtains that frame the room.
"this is an intense and ultimately very moving, Broadway-caliber show in relatively intimate environs"
He finds Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood lived-in and entertaining together, though a few moments lull, and he wonders whether Smallwood could have surprised him more in a production not modeled on the Broadway revival.
Chicago Reader
Reviewer: Kerry Reid · Reader Recommended
Kerry Reid writes that a two-hander lives or dies on its actors, and that Kenny Leon has cast two of the company’s biggest talents.
"Parks’s dialogue is scabrous, poetical, funny, and incisive, even if a bit discursive at times"
She admires Smallwood’s watchful understatement as Booth and the world-weariness Davis brings to Lincoln, and places the play among Parks’s other works about Lincoln and the Civil War.
BroadwayWorld
Reviewer: Rachel Weinberg
Rachel Weinberg calls the season opener blistering and captivating, and is struck by how much of the grim story plays as genuine comedy.
"Topdog/Underdog feels classic Steppenwolf but also contemporary and gripping."
She singles out Smallwood’s turn from sweetness to menace and Davis’s even-keeled Lincoln, and praises Arnulfo Maldonado’s drab, detailed apartment.
Newcity Stage
"Steppenwolf’s “Topdog/Underdog” Reckons With the American Dream"
Reviewer: Amanda Finn · Recommended
Amanda Finn, who has seen the play three times before, finds Davis’s Lincoln the most jovial she can recall and Smallwood’s Booth a pot barely keeping its lid on.
"it comes as no surprise that this rendition is even stronger"
She notes that the set, sound and costumes follow Leon’s 2022 Broadway revival, yet the production feels miles apart, and as urgent as ever.
Third Coast Review
"It’s the Hustle Beneath the Dream"
Reviewer: Doug Mose
Doug Mose reads the play as a parable about the American dream, and finds Leon’s taut revival unusually clear about what Parks is saying.
"a clear, confident, and emotionally charged production of a modern classic"
He credits Leon with letting the jokes and the brothers’ affection settle before the darker currents pull, which makes the final rupture land harder, and calls it a must-see.
Stage and Cinema
Reviewer: Emma S. Rund
Emma S. Rund finds the brothers’ love as convincing as their rivalry, with playful exchanges that bring the comedy to the fore.
"Davis brings a weary restraint to Lincoln, while Smallwood gives Booth a volatile swagger."
She is most interested in the design: a curtain that recalls Ford’s Theatre, dance-like set pieces, and a final camera-flash freeze-frame she is still turning over.
Chicago On Stage
"Steppenwolf’s Topdog / Underdog Shows Why the Play Is a Classic"
Reviewer: Seth Wilson
Seth Wilson was frustrated at first by the cramped playing space, then came round to how it turns the apartment into a pressure cooker for the brothers.
"this production would be a masterclass for anyone interested in the art of stage acting"
His one real complaint is the climax, which he feels is undercut by a sound effect where a working weapon was needed.
Buzz Center Stage
"When History Deals the Cards"
Reviewer: Wesley David · Highly Recommended
Wesley David, who has seen the play several times, finds that older actors bring a greater weight of history and disappointment to the brothers.
"Glenn Davis delivers some of the best work I have seen in his storied career."
He calls Smallwood equally compelling, and admires how Parks reveals the ending in the names and still builds suspense toward it.
Around the Town Chicago
Four stars
The Around the Town review praises Davis’s Lincoln as played to perfection and Smallwood’s Booth as deftly handled, and has warm words for the props, lighting, sound and costumes.
"these two actors are by far the strongest I have been witness to"
That comparison is with other productions of the play the critic has seen, and the review stops short of spoiling an ending it warns some may find hard to digest.
Splash Magazines
"Identity and reversals at Steppenwolf Theatre Company"
Reviewer: Debra Davy
Debra Davy admits she left the theater puzzled, then realized after sleeping on it that she had been conned by the play, which she takes to be the point.
"It’s a funny, intellectual and gut-wrenching experience that should not be missed."
She finds the first half arguably sluggish and some speeches long, but calls the direction a feat of sleight-of-hand.
Werner’s Theatre Reviews
Reviewer: Emily Werner
Emily Werner finds the production a well-judged mix of dark humor and high tension, and credits Leon with bringing a fresh perspective to a play he has directed before.
"Smallwood is absolutely spellbinding as Booth"
She calls Maldonado’s set mesmerizing and singles out Lee Fiskness’s lighting, including a haunting final image.
Chicago Stage and Screen
"Heartbreaking Topdog/Underdog at Steppenwolf"
Reviewer: Angela Allyn
Angela Allyn calls it a beautiful and devastating production, and declines to give away the plot so that newcomers can meet it fresh.
"This is not an entertainment, but a fable for our time."
She is moved by the range and devotion the two actors bring to brothers abandoned by their families, and argues the story has never felt outdated.
PicksInSix
"Sterling Version of “Topdog/Underdog” at Steppenwolf!"
Reviewer: Ronald Keaton
Ronald Keaton is rapturous about Parks’s rhythmic language and about Leon’s direction, which he ranks among the best currently on view in Chicago.
"What a pleasure to see truly committed actors at the top of their game."
He calls Smallwood’s Booth riveting and cutting and Davis’s Lincoln intense and emotionally committed, and stresses how evenly matched the pair are.
Production photographs by Michael Brosilow.
Topdog/Underdog runs in the Downstairs Theater at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, through November 1, 2026.
