Golden West to sink teeth into ‘Grapes’

Tom Titus

Trivia question: What novel, written in 1939, was the basis for the

Tony Award-winning best play on Broadway for 2000?

Hint: The 1940 movie version made a star out of its leading actor,

who went on to become a Hollywood legend, winning his only Oscar a

few months before his death.

Give up? The answer is “Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck’s classic

novel, which will burst onto the stage of Golden West College next

weekend as one of the school’s most ambitious productions. The

movie’s star, of course, was Henry Fonda.

“The play is truer to the novel than John Ford’s film, capturing

more of Steinbeck’s anger, as well as more of the raw, controversial

tone of the novel,” director Tom Amen said. “Whereas the film is a

somewhat sanitized version of the novel, the play captures the edgy

quality of it. For this reason, it is intended for mature audiences.”

Steinbeck’s book tracked the journey of Oklahoma farmers, beaten

down by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, to what was supposed to be the

promised land of California. The hardships they encounter along the

way form the spine of the story.

“For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the work of

John Steinbeck,” Amen said. “When I was a young man, my father gave

me a collection of Steinbeck’s short novels and I was immediately

captivated by them.

“On the title page of the book, my father wrote, ‘Steinbeck had an

uncanny ability to use his own experiences and surroundings to

develop fiction that makes people believe,’” the director recalled.

“‘If it took getting his nose dirty to do it, he got his nose dirty.’

I wish I had written those words, because I think my father hit the

nail squarely on the head.”

Amen describes the novel as “ultimately a celebration of all that

is noble and virtuous in people. Steinbeck’s story clings tenaciously

to the vanishing qualities of social responsibility, loyalty to

family, charity, generosity of spirit and strength of character.

“Furthermore, Steinbeck had a wonderful sense of compassion for

his characters. In ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ Steinbeck has endowed his

characters with an inner strength and sense of humor that sustains

them through hardship and misery.”

Amen has cast one of his most accomplished student actors, Joshua

Matheson, in the central role of Tom Joad, while playing Ma and Pa

Joad are two performers who need no introduction at Golden West --

Renata Florin (returning after a lengthy absence) and Stephen Silva.

Completing the principal roles will be Blake Coomb, Bruce

Alexander, Michael Witherell, Dax McKeever, Christa Mathis, Jim

Perham, Gwen Wooldridge and Scott Finn. Golden West veteran Mark

Bedard will enact the narrator, musician and other key characters.

“Steinbeck’s novel, and Frank Galati’s brilliant adaptation of it,

is far more than a historical chronicle of a particular time and

place,” Amen said. “‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is a warning, a wake-up

call to a world that was then, and is now, poisoned by intolerance,

bigotry and fear. If for no other reason than this, ‘The Grapes of

Wrath’ remains a very resonant, provocative and hauntingly beautiful

story -- a story that still has the enduring power to make people

believe.”

Amen cautions that the play contains adult themes and is not

suitable for children.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.