Steppenwolf: Topdog/Underdog
Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood
Steppenwolf Theatre Presents TOPDOG/UNDERDOG Review - Upping the Brotherly Ante
TLDR: Topdog/Underdog explores two brothers’ relationship as they struggle with social and economical pressures and their family past that got them here. Davis and Smallwood paint us a picture of this relationship that’s tinged with regular sibling rivalry, but feels like there’s something more bubbling underneath the surface.
Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood
Apartment of Brotherly Love
Two brothers, one named after our 16th U.S. president and the other as an ironic joke, the man who killed him. Lincoln and Booth. They share an apartment in the city and more ironically, Lincoln (Glenn Davis) works as a Lincoln impersonator. Booth, played by Namir Smallwood, doesn't have a regular job per se, but supplies the housing as Lincoln recently came to crash with him in his small, one room apartment. He is trying to get into Lincoln’s old three-card monte gig, but his real strength lies in being able to shoplift. In Topdog/Underdog, we see the brothers’ relationship in different lights as they co-habitate and uncover things about their past that influenced their lives today.
Neither of them would be considered currently “successful” in their careers, finances, or romantic relationships, but in this world of gray and crumbling apartment walls, they can’t let the other know that. Both Davis and Smallwood capture the nuances of a brotherly relationship. They gas each other up when the other needs it. They rib each other when the other needs a mood boost or to be taken down a peg. And they also capture that competitiveness tinged with a little animosity as they boast about their accomplishments to the other.
As they approach the subject of their past, they also show another part of a sibling relationship. They revisit moments from their childhood and ask if the other remembers. As more and more get revealed, we understand how each’s perception may have been colored by their different relationships with their parents. When we find out more about their parents’ relationship, how they treated them, and how young they were when both ended up leaving, we see how it impacted how they currently move through the world.
Waiting for The Other Shoe To Drop
Topdog/Underdog is filled with foreshadowing starting from the moment our characters are introduced as two of history’s most famous people. The set designed by Arnulfo Maldonado is a sparse room with a bed, a few milk crates to practice the monte, and a recliner chair that becomes the second bed. When Lincoln comes home that first night and the two discuss how he can keep his job by making his “death” be more lifelike, there’s this parallel moment of Booth standing behind Lincoln as he sits in that recliner and stares straight ahead. It’s a Chekhov’s gun moment where we know from their names and that moment, there’s something coming. We just don’t know when.
There’s this underlying tension and stress as Davis and Smallwood play off of each other, even if they outwardly keep that tension under wraps. So while we know there’s something lurking between what’s not being said, there’s not a lot of outward animosity towards each other. It’s an interesting choice by Davis and Smallwood to play the brothers more sympathetic almost, even as they try to one up each other or pretend they’re fine when really they’re not.
Namir Smallwood and Glenn Davis
The After Party Thoughts
To me the key to Topdog/Underdog are those moments where the tone shifts away from just brothers being brothers and sibling rivalry to a little more menacing. That menacing tone is not there all the time, so when it rears its ugly head for the ultimate end, it feels like it almost comes out of nowhere. But the performances by Glenn and Smallwood bring us into the brothers’ world and keep us engaged as we try and suss out when it’s all going to come to a head.
Topdog/Underdog still feels like a timeless piece of theater as it still feels like it holds a mirror up to today. For those that are looking for a more happy and uplifting show, this may not be the one for you. But for those that enjoy a family drama burdened with societal and economical pressures, Topdog/Underdog would be a good fit for you.
RECOMMENDED
Glenn Davis
When
Now through November 1, 2026
Where
Steppenwolf Theatre
1650 N. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60614
Runtime: 2hrs 30min, including intermission
Tickets
$20+
Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office (312) 335-1650 or through the Steppenwolf Theatre website
Photos
Michael Brosilow
Find Allie and The After Party featured on Theatre in Chicago
Namir Smallwood and Glenn Davis
CAST
Glenn Davis (Lincoln)
Namir Smallwood (Booth)
Anthony Fleming III (Understudy Lincoln)
Patrick Newson Jr. (Understudy Booth)
CREATIVE
Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright)
Kenny Leon (Director)
Arnulfo Maldonado (Scenic Designer)
Dede Ayite (Costume Designer)
Lee Fiskness (Lighting Designer)
Justin Ellington (Sound Designer)
Jyreika Guest (Violence & Intimacy Consultant)
Kate DeVore (Vocal Coach)
Patrick Zakem (Creative Producer)
Elise Hausken (Production Manager)
JC Clementz, CSA (Casting)
Laura D. Glenn (Production Stage Manager)
Jaclynn Joslin (Assistant Stage Manager)