Laurie Metcalf, whom The New York Times has called “one of the brightest lights of the American stage,” returns to Broadway in a play that was commissioned for her by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Written by Samuel D. Hunter, Little Bear Ridge Road won raves when it premiered at Steppenwolf, in 2023. The show is directed by Joe Mantello, a two-time Tony winner, and it’s his seventh time working with Metcalf, which means creative chemistry. Set in Idaho, the play is about a tough woman, her estranged gay nephew, a death, a house, and the family history. Metcalf is not to be missed. —Henry McGrath