"The dawn came, but no day. In the morning the dust hung like fog. Men stood by their fences and looked at the ruined corn, drying fast now, only a little green showing through the film of dust. And the women came out of the houses to stand beside their men - to feel whether the time the men would break. The women studied the men's faces secretly. for the corn could go, as long as something else remained."
The staged version of John Steinbeck's classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is being performed this week at Wake Forest University on the Mainstage Theatre. Come sit and be transported to the era of the 1920s, and view the story of American courage and perseverance against all the odds.
The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family during the Great Depressions. Very proud but very poor after they lose their farm (literally), the Joads pack up their lives and leave the dust bowl of Oklahoma to head for California, where they hope to find work and ultimately, a better life. Between Ma Joad, a mother determined to keep her family together, and Tom Joad, an ex-convict who finds the intolerance and exploitation along the way more and more frustrating, the Joads struggle onwards until they get to their destination--only to find out that California will not be the shower of gold or the reversal of fortunes. "And yet, despite the anguish and suffering which it depicts, the play becomes in the final essence a soaring and deeply moving affirmation of the indomitability of the human spirit, and of the essential goodness and strength which—then as now—resides in the hearts and minds of the "common man," throughout the world" (dramatists.com).
The play was created in 1988 by Frank Galati, with incidental music by Michael Smith. In 1990, it won both a Tony Award and an Outer Critic Circle Award. "Considering the current state of our economy, even in recovery, it's appropriate for Wake Forest University to present the play version of "The Grapes of Wrath,'" writes the staff of the Winston-Salem Journal.
The WFU Mainstage Theatre is located in the Scales Fine Arts Center at Wake Forest University. Performances will be:
- Friday, February 25 @ 7:30 pm
- Saturday, February 26 @ 7:30 pm
- Sunday, February 27 @ 2:00 pm
Tickets are $12 for the public and $5 for students. You can purchase tickets in advance by calling 336-758-5295 or emailing WFUTheatreTix@wfu.edu, or tickets will be available at the door. To read the review of opening night by the Winston-Salem Journal, click here.
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