THEATER REVIEW : ‘Grapes of Wrath’: Vintage Melodrama

There are certainly greater, more artful books about the so-called “American experience,” but few have had the populist impact of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”

His novel of huge tragedies and small triumphs along the road from dust bowl Oklahoma to orchard-green California is a centerpiece of our literature, of the way we look at this country in all its splendor and hypocrisy.

Bringing Steinbeck’s melodramatic Great Depression tale of the yearning Joad family to the stage was the challenge facing Frank Galati and Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater Company in the late ‘80s. There were doubters early on, but by the time Galati’s adaptation premiered in Chicago in 1988, most of the misgivings had been washed away.

After a highly successful run in Chicago, the show moved to the La Jolla Playhouse and eventually became a hit on Broadway in 1990, winning the Tony Award for best play of the season.

Galati’s version has been resurrected at Cal State Fullerton in a more than satisfying way that retains much of its innovative ideas and lean, evocative style. This may be a college presentation--and that comes with its own caveats concerning experience and expertise--but it’s a first-rate one.

The original took few darts, but one was sharply aimed at the pacing, a deliberately slow build-up of disappointment and anguish as the poor, homeless Joads move toward the promised land in their wreck of a truck.

CSUF may be faithful to many of the good elements in Galati’s staging, as well as to the pace of the production, which moseys and occasionally hems and haws. But stick with it--it takes you where Steinbeck intended.

Director Don Finn and and set designer Todd Muffatti incorporate much of Galati’s invention, including a stage that magically opens up to become several things, from campfires to graves, even to become the Colorado River (a surprising feat here; we actually see the floorboards lifted away and Finn’s actors splashing about).

Combined with Susan Hallman’s rich lighting, which drapes over the cast like a second skin of emotion, and Abel Zeballos’ roughed-up costumes, this presentation is visual in a way that is atypical for most local theaters--campus or otherwise.

Another plus is that Finn has finely tuned his cast. Small points such as strong, clear diction--not always something you can depend on in a college production--are immediately appreciated, especially when considering the lean nature of Steinbeck’s language.

It’s gratifying that most of the actors go beyond that, bringing an affecting earnestness to their roles. “The Grapes of Wrath,” which has been and easy victim for satire as Americana hokum, mainly because of its unrelenting emotionalism and simple message-making, needs restraint, and this cast gives us that.

Jason Bold as Tom Joad, Chris Duval as Pa Joad, Eric Bishop as ex-preacher Jim, Mark John Packer as Grampa Joad and Samantha Hadfield as Rose of Sharon are standouts in bringing the right texture of hardship and resignation to Steinbeck’s sprawling story.

‘The Grapes of Wrath’

A Cal State Fullerton production of Frank Galati’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel. Directed by Don Finn. With Stephan Liapis, Eve Himmelheber, Eric Bishop, Jason Bold, James Finnerty, Steve Smith, Jay Charan, Chris Duval, Leslie Mitts, Deborah Chicurel, Mark John Packer, Duncan Mandel, Melissa Pike, John Gonzalez, Paul Butvich, Samantha Hadfield, Matthew Schleicher, Michael Polak, Christian Wilkerson, Michael Miranda, Kent Toussaint, John Wray, Brian Bon, Daniel Duffy, David Pike, Chris Friebus, Erich Neubert, John Vasquez, Jennifer Gormley, Suzanne R.M. Grzanka, Suzanne LaRoque, Darlene Anderson, Amy Schaumberg, Christian Banks, Edgar Schulz, Raylene Dodson and Gary Pike. Sets by Todd Muffatti. Costumes and makeup by Abel Zeballos. Lighting by Susan Hallman. Musical direction by William Koon. Choreography by Lara Teeter and Greg Hoffman. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m, with a 2:30 p.m. show Saturday and a 5 p.m. show Sunday in the Little Theatre, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. $5 to $8. (714) 773-3371. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.