Play review: The Grapes of Wrath
February 18, 2010 5:59 PM
“We are the grapes of wrath, we never take a bath, it’s our style to seldom smile and never laugh.” The VeggieTales’ song was this reporter’s first and only real experience with The Grapes of Wrath before last Thursday night.
Don’t fret if you haven’t had a chance to see it yet; the play will run from the 18th to the 21st as well at the Bauer Theatre and tickets are $7 for students, $10 for seniors and $12 for anyone who doesn’t fit either of those descriptions.
For anyone who hasn’t read this American Classic or seen the Oscar nominated cinematic adaptation or attended a performance of the theatric version that was seen on Broadway, here is the rundown synopsis.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel written by John Steinbeck, published in 1939, then adapted by Frank Galati for the stage which hit Broadway in 1990.
It’s the story of the Joad Family, who, upon the release of the eldest son Tom from prison on parole, have decide to make their way to California from their home in Oklahoma.
Their crops had failed in what came to be known as the Dust Bowl and their farm was seized by the bank. There was no work to be found in Oklahoma, and there is promise of lots of work and good wages in California.
Sounds encouraging right? Without giving away the ending, let’s just say the promise of prosperity and blind hope at the beginning of the story might be the happiest the Joad family will be. Every gain the Joads make seems to be accompanied by a loss.
The tone wasn’t set in the prologue, which did offer useful context for the play, but in the first monologue performed by Elizabeth Mochrie as a farmer’s wife.
After listening to the assuring words of “This Land is Your Land” the audience is jolted by her starkly contradicting and dejected words “This land belongs to the bank.”
Music from Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads and supplementary characters rendered by capable performers are woven throughout this story to create a rich production to depict the struggle not just of one family but of a nation.
Strong performances given by Kristian De Angelis as Tom Joad and Carol Anne MacKenzie as Ma Joad steer the story, while characters like Gran’pa Joad played by Ralph DeCoste provide welcome lightheartedness accompanying the imperative dose of tragedy.
And by the end of the play, the maturity forced on Rose of Sharon in a perpetual dire situation is commendably portrayed by Ginny Pottie.
Upon asking director Ed Tomason why he chose to put on The Grapes of Wrath this season, the reasons were something of what you’d expect for a production such as this: one part inspiration (the songs of Woody Guthrie performed by Greg Favaro, the play’s musical director, at a concert last year), one part admiration (“one of the greatest stories ever told”) and one part political climate.
It was just a little while ago that the media couldn’t get enough of comparing the current recession to the Great Depression. Hell, the comparison’s even made in Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.” Despite the grim nature of The Grapes of Wrath, I’d have to disagree with the VeggieTales distillation: the play does offer a few laughs, in the beginning anyway.
However, this isn’t something to see if you just want an escape, unless the escape you’re searching for is chock full of thought-provoking themes of despair and desperation (a.k.a, for anyone looking to escape their dry textbooks or case-studies).
As a British reviewer said “Steinbeck isn’t for sissies.” A little while into Act Two, Uncle John Joad played by John Hanlon goes off with two of the few dollars the family has left to get drunk.
At the time you may think “Wow, he’s selfish!” However, before the end of the play you might wish you could do the same for so cheap. We are in a recession, after all.
