Highland Park native Jeff Perry talks 'No Man's Land' at Steppenwolf

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Jeff Perry is a Chicago stage and screen favorite, and he's now back starring at Steppenwolf, the world-renowned theatre company he helped to create nearly 50 years ago.

"No Man's Land" is an absorbing Harold Pinter classic.

Perry caught up with Hosea Sanders to talk about this new production.

"No Man's Land" is at Steppenwolf through Aug. 20.

Perry said he's "overjoyed" to be in Chicago.

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He plays a wealthy man in desperation, with past memories lost, and an "icy, silent" present "No Man's Land."

"Lead me to Pinter, Hosea; his plays invite our brains to go 'What? Wait what does that mean?'" Perry said.

Highland Park is Perry's hometown, but Steppenwolf may be the home of his heart.

"Pushing 50 years, Hosea, 2025-26 is our 50th anniversary season. There's a lot of people in this block, in this zip code, all the way from Highland Park to Chicago, who say, I saw you in 1977 in the Immaculate Conception Church School basement of Highland Park, doing Harold Pinter's 'The Caretaker," Perry said. "We wanted to work with people we loved, we wanted to pick the work we were doing, we wanted to own the work we were doing, do it 'cause you love it because that's what's going to sustain you."

Perry finds wisdom in the questions asked in "No Man's Land."

"What do I do in my last chapter, what do I do with my life? What do I do with 50, 60, 70 years of life and memory in me? How universal this is, who knows, we'll see!" he said.