Camille Gavin: 'Grapes' director, cast live up to classic novel
| Wednesday, Sep 09 2009 03:44 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Sep 09 2009 03:46 PM
Loading Stories
Advertisement
'The Grapes of Wrath'
When: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sept. 17 to 19, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Spotlight Theatre, 1622 19th St.
Admission: $20, $17 in advance; students and seniors, $18, $15 in advance
Information: 634-0692
Frank Galati's adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," now playing at the Spotlight Theatre, is a powerful drama that celebrates the strength of the human spirit.
In some hands, this Great Depression-era drama of the Joad family's struggle to survive as they trek from Oklahoma to California, where they encounter labor strife and other travails, could end up being a sentimental soap opera.
But I'm happy to say --after seeing last Sunday's matinee -- that, under Brian Sivesind's sensitive direction, it is a story told poignantly by a well-rounded cast that is energized with an equal amount of confidence and passion.
Jack Slider as the fallen-from-grace preacher and Joe Cannon as Tom Joad, a cynical ex-convict, are excellent in their lead roles.
There is an easy chemistry between the two actors. They play well off each other and each has developed his particular character to a high degree. The fight scenes in which they are involved -- with cops, strike-breakers and others -- were so real that I gasped in surprise.
When Slider's body slammed onto the floor, I was sure he was a goner.
Yet "Grapes" is not all gloom and doom. One of the most delightful scenes is a square dance creatively called in a yodeling style by Julia Stansbury.
Teri Gann and Ron Fox turn in solid performances as Ma and Pa Joad. And Norman Colwell and Joyce Weingarden are hilarious as Grampa and Gramma.
The cycle of life, that is the belief that even in death there is life, is an underlying theme in "Grapes." This is exemplified by Sarah Payne, as Rose of Sharon, the young wife whose baby is stillborn. Her poignant scene with a starving man brings the show to a close. If you're like me, mental images of that final scene will remain with you long after you leave the theater.
Even though the play runs 21/2 hours, it moves quickly, never lags.
Guitar-playing Mickey Farley, with a manner and a voice reminiscent of Burl Ives, helps to keep the thread alive during scene changes, which also go quickly as the cast skillfully moves props in and out of what is a essentially a bare stage.
Among these props are a picnic table, wooden cartons, a mattress, chairs, and a host of belongings that the cast puts together to form what is supposed to be the Joad family's rattle-trap jalopy. The car is constructed on a turntable that is cleverly propelled by several overall-clad cast members wielding shovels.
Other important elements, such as sound effects -- crickets chirping, birds twittering, guns popping -- and skillful lighting design, go a long way to providing the mood needed for the moment. The costumes are faded and splotched with dirt, representing the dust storms that have driven the Joads from the land where they were sharecroppers.
"Grapes of Wrath" at the Spotlight is an excellent show -- in my book, it deserves a five-star rating. Performances end on Sept. 20.
