Amy Morton Returns to the Stage in You Will Get Sick

This summer, Amy Morton returns to the stage at Steppenwolf Theatre, where she has been an ensemble member since 1997, for the first time in eight years. Starring in the Chicago premiere of Noah Diaz鈥檚 You Will Get Sick, directed by Audrey Francis (now through July 20), Morton plays a character simply called #2, a woman who acts as an ad-hoc caregiver for a terminally ill younger man and develops an unexpected friendship with him.

Why the long gap in Steppenwolf gigs? In short, Morton was ready for a change of pace after finishing her Tony-nominated run in Edward Albee鈥檚 Who鈥檚 Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 2013. The revival, which also starred Tracy Letts, Carrie Coon, and Madison Dirks, was Morton鈥檚 third appearance in a Broadway transfer of a Steppenwolf production, following One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (2001) and the wildly successful August: Osage County (2007-09), for which she received her first Tony nomination for Leading Actress in a Play. (Steppenwolf's Tony-winning streak continued at the 2025 ceremony June 8, when its production of Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins won Best Play).

Reflecting on bringing August: Osage County, written by Letts, to New York, Morton says, 鈥淚鈥檇 never experienced a giant hit on Broadway before. It was a monumental experience for me.鈥� She also enjoyed her time in Who鈥檚 Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but playing intense roles in two long, three-act plays on Broadway left her feeling exhausted. So, she decided to accept a TV role as Sergeant Trudy Platt in NBC鈥檚 Chicago P.D., and she鈥檚 been a series regular since the show鈥檚 debut season in 2014. She last appeared onstage at Steppenwolf in Taylor Mac鈥檚 HIR in 2017.

Reading the script of You Will Get Sick was what finally drew Morton back to her longtime theatrical home. Francis, who is the co-artistic director of Steppenwolf alongside Glenn Davis, considers Morton a mentor and regularly calls her for advice. When Francis asked for her opinion on Diaz鈥檚 play, Morton was immediately drawn to it.

鈥淚 read it, and I loved the role so much, I said, 鈥業 want to be in it,鈥欌€� Morton recalls. 鈥淚 laughed out loud, which doesn鈥檛 happen a lot when I鈥檓 reading scripts, and I thought the play was beautiful and really touching and really funny. And it鈥檚 only one act, it鈥檚 not three acts. And I thought, 鈥榃ell, if I鈥檓 ever going to do another play, maybe this is the one I do.鈥欌€�

Amy Morton, Sadieh Rifai, and Namir Smallwood in *You Will Get Sick* Michael Brosilow

Set in an unspecified city in the Midwest, the show has a post-apocalyptic feel, with packs of wild dogs roaming the parks and giant birds swallowing people whole. Morton describes her character as 鈥渁 bit of a hustler-scavenger, just trying to get through the day and make the money she can make, because it feels like the infrastructure has fallen apart.鈥� When this woman spots a flyer offering a small fee for listening to a stranger tell a secret over the phone, she jumps at the chance, setting into motion the play鈥檚 central relationship. Beyond trying to make ends meet, Morton鈥檚 character is working toward a specific goal: she wants to play Dorothy in a stage production of The Wizard of Oz, despite being at least 70 years old.

Now in her mid-60s, Morton appears as part of an intergenerational cast featuring Steppenwolf ensemble members Namir Smallwood (Pass Over, True West, Bug) and Cliff Chamberlain (The Minutes, Superior Donuts), along with Chicago-based actors Jordan Arredondo and Sadieh Rifai.

鈥淚鈥檓 the oldest person in that room, but I don鈥檛 feel it at all,鈥� Morton says of the rehearsal process. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really, really fun. I鈥檓 having the time of my life.鈥�

Francis, who joined the Steppenwolf ensemble in 2017 and became the theater鈥檚 joint artistic director in 2021, spoke about the importance of having veterans like Morton work alongside newer ensemble members and younger local actors. 鈥淚 genuinely believe that Steppenwolf鈥檚 intergenerational ensemble is truly invested in making sure that the place continues beyond us,鈥� she says. 鈥淪teppenwolf is bigger than any individual, bigger than any single ensemble member, because we鈥檙e all believing that we鈥檙e in an artistic relay race.鈥�

Morton has played a key role in Francis鈥檚 own leg of this relay race. They first met in 2004 when Francis, a journalism major who didn鈥檛 pursue acting until late in her college career, was accepted into the School at Steppenwolf, the company鈥檚 professional training program for actors, where she found Morton鈥檚 instruction 鈥渟o authentic and so honest.鈥� While Francis has acted under Morton鈥檚 direction several times over the years, You Will Get Sick is the first production in which Francis is directing Morton鈥攁 role reversal that Francis initially found intimidating. 鈥淚 want to do right by her,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 want to be the artist that she helped me to become.鈥�

The two artists will swap roles again in June 2026, when Morton will direct Francis in Catch as Catch Can by Mia Chung, a form-bending play that requires three actors to play six familial roles across generations and gender. 鈥淥ne of the things that I want to do as an artistic director is make sure that there鈥檚 one [production] that we鈥檙e really taking a big swing on,鈥� notes Francis. You Will Get Sick and Catch as Catch Can are Steppenwolf鈥檚鈥渢wo big swings鈥� of the current and upcoming seasons.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the hardest play I will ever do,鈥� Morton says of Chung鈥檚 work. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited and scared out of my mind to do this play.鈥� Fortunately for both Morton and Francis, they aren鈥檛 tackling these ambitious plays alone, but rather as ensemble members who have built mutual trust through years of artistic partnership. That鈥檚 what the Steppenwolf ethos is all about.