“Shapiro is a star of sorts, the company’s 35th ensemble member (and one of the few nonactors in that group), acclaimed for muscular, lyrical relationship studies, the kind where a chair or two gets thrown. She is a Tony Award winner whose production of ‘August: Osage County’ remains intrinsic to Steppenwolf’s identity. Advance ticket sales alone for ‘Fish in the Dark; ($14.5 million) were about the same as Steppenwolf’s annual operating budget. And for the past few years she has added to her reputation by becoming a Broadway insurance plan of sorts, celebrity-whispering famous actors until they become believable, bankable presences onstage.”