That said, throughout its history, Steppenwolf, with its large, passionate, talented, famously contentious “ensemble,” rarely has made major changes unanimously, and most of its ensemble and trustees clearly are on board. There long have been controversies, ranging from early mishegoss over how much attention the company should pay to New York fame and fortune, to various shifts in artistic programming, to the 2017 decision by the theater’s leadership to publicly attack a long-serving critic, Hedy Weiss of the Sun-Times over a review they deemed offensive, instantly attracting highly critical editorials in both major Chicago newspapers. Under artistic director Anna D. Shapiro’s leadership, which began with the controversial departure of Martha Lavey in 2015, energy has shifted to a growing and busy group of newly added ensemble members, part of Shapiro’s determination to diversify her core of artists and, she has said, better reflect the demographic makeup of Chicago.