The Grapes of Wrath

In the politically-charged The Grapes of Wrath, penned by one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated authors, John Steinbeck, we are witness to the Joad family driven off their Oklahoma homestead during the Dustbowl catastrophe of the 1930s and lured west only to find themselves enmeshed in a corrupt system of farm-labor exploitation. Written at a time of tremendous unrest in the country’s exploding labor movement, the novel continues to be banned in certain parts of the country due to its frank, striking and often brutal depiction of discrimination in America. Steinbeck’s epic, sweeping novel is faithfully adapted for the stage by Frank Galati who helmed its 1990 award-winning Broadway debut featuring the celebrated ensemble of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.