Gripping ‘Grapes of Wrath’ at Golden West

Tom Titus

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine a time when proud farmers

fled the wind-ravaged Oklahoma dust bowl for an uncertain future as

migrant workers in the “promised land” of California, but John

Steinbeck chronicled this period most notably in his novel “The

Grapes of Wrath.”

The book that spawned a celebrated movie version in 1939 is the

basis for playwright Frank Galati’s achingly gripping stage

adaptation, which Golden West College currently is presenting as a

dark, often dismal but ultimately uplifting production.

“Grapes of Wrath” follows the Joad family, “Okies” blown out of

their farm and onto the road in a dilapidated truck, headed west on

Route 66. Director Tom Amen has captured the journey mile after

frustrating mile in a lengthy, but richly rewarding, staging.

The play’s first act chronicles the Joads’ trials and tribulations

on the westward journey. The second act focuses on the cruelty and

prejudice they encounter at the end of the trail. Both center on the

young adult Tom Joad, newly released from prison after killing

another man in a fight, striving to conform to society’s dictates,

but possessed of a furious passion for justice that often becomes

dominant.

Joshua Matheson enacts the hard-headed Tom with a steely sense of

outrage, quick to anger and just as quick to realize the risk he’s

taking. Matheson’s sinewy performance anchors the GWC production,

which offers a goodly number of individual accomplishments in its

huge ensemble cast.

It’s easy to see where Tom gets his pugnacious attitude -- his

mother is a feisty, straight-talking woman played superbly by Renata

Florin in a welcome return to the Golden West stage. Tom’s father,

played by Steven Silva in another fine performance, is depicted as

more of a compromiser, preferring not to make waves.

Outstanding as an itinerant ex-preacher who hitches a ride with

the westbound Joads is Blake Coomb. His conflicted character

establishes a tone that prevails among many of the travelers. Michael

Witherell is fine as Tom’s randy younger brother, while Gwen

Wooldridge and Jim Perham beautifully interpret the family’s frail

grandma and grandpa, who lack the physical strength for the journey.

Mark Bedard, one of the college’s strongest performers, takes on

several roles in the production, principally as a guitar-strumming

narrator, but also as several characters the Joads meet along the

way, blowing a harsh gust of reality against their dreams.

Christa Mathis delivers another excellent portrayal as Rose of

Sharon, a pregnant relative whose life-affirming act at the close of

the play offers a modicum of hope. Bruce Alexander plays Tom’s

conflicted uncle, ultimately overcome by his thirst, while Nick Cook

has a few rich, and diametrically opposed, cameos as two men on

different “welcoming committees,” and Kathleen Fabry chills the air

as a religious zealot running up against the steely resolve of Ma

Joad.

The Golden West setting, initially a stretch of sun-baked land,

later modified with necessary set pieces, is strikingly crafted by

Sigrid Hammer Wolf. Susan Thomas Babb’s costumes strongly establish

the drab 1930s atmosphere, while Leigh Allen’s lighting and Scott

Steidinger’s sound -- particularly during a violent rainstorm so

realistic that viewers might cover their heads with their programs --

are first rate.

“Grapes of Wrath” is an epic production, stretching into three

hours, but it also is a mesmerizing lesson both in history and

humanity that should be experienced.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.