A new play at Steppenwolf is asking a question that may hit close to home for many Chicagoans: When tragedy happens, especially after police violence, what does justice really look like?

“Windfall,” the new world premiere by Academy Award-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Awoye Timpo, is now playing at Steppenwolf through May 31.

In a recent Steppenwolf video, McCraney said he hopes audiences leave the play “feeling dreamy,” invited to dream about the world they want to live in, who they want to invite into that world, and whether they can expand it.

The production is part of Steppenwolf’s 50th anniversary season and was commissioned specifically for this milestone moment. The play brings together a powerhouse cast including Glenn Davis, Alana Arenas, Jon Michael Hill, Namir Smallwood, Esco Jouléy, and Michael Potts.

“Windfall” tells the story of a Chicago father trying to make sense of life after losing his child in an encounter with police. When the city offers him a financial settlement without admitting wrongdoing, he is pushed to confront difficult questions about justice, accountability, and what his child’s life is worth.

In many ways, “Windfall” is about money. But beneath that is a deeper conversation about grief, power, activism, and the ways systems try to put a price on pain.

As he wrestles with that decision, the father is visited by three strangers who urge him to take the city’s settlement, relocate, and move on. What follows is a story that asks whether healing, justice, and memory can ever be separated from the pull of the almighty dollar.

For Glenn Davis, Steppenwolf’s Artistic Director and a South Side native, those questions are not abstract.

“It’s the conversation we’ve been having with ourselves as a community for a while, even if we weren’t aware of it,” Davis said.

Before becoming a leader at one of Chicago’s most respected theater companies, Davis spent his early years surrounded by moments many South Siders know well—going to the park, playing basketball, spending time with grandparents, and gathering for block parties and holiday celebrations with extended family.

Those experiences do more than create memories. They shape the relationships that make loss and questions of justice hit close to home.

Davis, who grew up in Chatham, says the play reflects the kinds of values shaped by community—family, identity, and shared responsibility—and how those values are tested in moments of loss.

“Community is everything… it helps establish your morality, your sense of ethics, your purpose and identity,” he said.

That foundation is part of what gives “Windfall” its emotional weight. The play asks audiences to consider how the values formed in families and neighborhoods shape the way people respond to grief, injustice, and the pull of money.

While the themes are heavy, the experience is not.

Davis said audiences can expect a play that is thought-provoking, but also funny, familiar, and deeply human.

“You’ll see yourself, your family, your community…and you’ll laugh,” he said, describing McCraney’s ability to capture familiar moments with humor and clarity.

When asked what he hopes someone from Chatham or the South Side takes away from the play, Davis said he hopes audiences leave wanting to look inward.

“I hope they come away with a desire to self examine, look at their own ideals, and things they have taken for granted about the value of human life,” he said. He added that he hopes the play pushes people to think more deeply about what money means and how commerce shapes life in America today.

The play has also encouraged Davis to reflect on his own perspective. He said working on “Windfall” has led him to examine how his views have evolved over time and sparked meaningful conversations with his artistic partners.

And while “Windfall” may spark larger conversations about grief, capitalism, and justice, Davis’ reflections suggest the play is also about something more intimate: the people who shape us, the communities that raise us, and the values we carry long after we leave home.

This article was created in paid partnership with Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Learn more and get tickets to Windfall here.