Originally Produced on the Broadway Stage by The Shubert Organization, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Suntory International Corporation, and Jujamcyn Theatres Corporation.
Director Notes
Welcome to our production of The Grapes of Wrath. It has been a joyful, fruitful, and fulfilling process working on this epic American play.
In this 1988 adaptation by Frank Galati the great American novel by Steinbeck is reimagined. And now we have done the same. The story centers on the Joad family who are forced to travel West due to economic and climate disaster (The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl) in search of a promised land and a better future. The Joad family embark on an epic journey across America in the hope of finding work and a new life in California. The play is a drama filled with false hopes, wrong turns and broken dreams, but also a hymn to human kindness and endurance.
This is an Epic style play (without the Brechtian ‘alienation’). An epic journey. A family epic. An American epic. It is large, bold, and straightforward. It is archetypal and grand, while also being beautifully personal and delicate.
Our cast and crew of artists have explored this classic American story through who we are today and how the themes resonate in our time (e.g., climate crisis, migration/immigration, what does it mean to be an American, etc.). As such, we are not telling a “museum piece” and acknowledge that our ensemble may not fit the original authors’ expectations of age, race, or gender. Rather, we bring our ensemble’s diversity and life experiences to the show and see how they reflect and illuminate it.
This play teaches us about the past, reflects on the present, and warns about the future. But leaves us with a sense of the strength of the human spirit to choose love and kindness in the face of challenge and defeat.
We hope you enjoy the show,
Julian Stetkevych, Director
Assistant Professor of Performing Arts
Special Thanks
President Connie Book, Provost Rebecca Kohn, Dean Hilton Kelly, Angela Llewellyn, Fred Rubeck, Kimberly Rippy, Dale Girard
Cast
| Tom Joad | Parker Felumlee |
| Jim Casy | Makenzie Pridgen |
| Ma Joad | Caroline Moore |
| Rose of Sharon | Claire Keel |
| Al Joad | Jaden Carlisle |
| Pa Joad | Ailish O’Brien |
| Uncle John | Alan Kornbluth |
| Ruthie Joad, First Man, u/s Muley | Arlan Visser |
| Man w/ Guitar, 1st & 3rd Narrator, Car Salesman 1, Officer 2, Starving Man | Graham Boggess |
| Gramma, Elizabeth Sandry, Mrs. Wainwright, 4th Narrator | Allison Durand |
| Connie Rivers, Weedpatch Camp Director, Harmonica Player | Jack Gould |
| Grampa, Floyd, Boy | Dylan Levison |
| Winfield Joad, Muley, Second Man | Kavalon Mills |
| Noah Joad, Mayor of Hooverville, Camp Guard | Seth Upchurch |
| Car Salesman 2, Proprietor, Second Narrator, Contractor, Bookkeeper, Aggie Wainwright, u/s Rose of Sharon | Aubrey Kocsis |
| Car Salesman 3, Man Going Back, First Agricultural Officer, Hooper Ranch Guard, Third Man | Ankita Balaji |
| Car Salesman 4, Gas Station Owner, Woman Who Gets Shot, Al’s Girl | Mikayla Tees |
| Young Man, Gas Station Attendant, Officer 1, Second Man with Club, Second Man, u/s Jim Casy | Jeffery Wilson |
| Willy, Car Salesman 5, Second Agricultural Officer, Deputy Sheriff, First Man with Club, First Man, u/s Tom Joad | Lachlan Apple |
| u/s Al Joad, Man w/ Guitar, 1st & 3rd Narrator, Car Salesman 1, Officer 2, Starving Man | Nick Brillo |
| u/s Pa Joad, Car Salesman 4, Gas Station Owner, Woman Who Gets Shot, Al’s Girl | Claire Fellows |
| u/s Uncle John, Grampa, Floyd, Boy, Willy, Car Salesman 5, Second Agricultural Officer, Deputy Sheriff, First Man with Club, First Man | Keller Gilland |
| u/s Gramma, Elizabeth Sandry, Mrs. Wainwright, Fourth Narrator, Connie Rivers, Weedpatch Camp Director, Car Salesman 2, Proprietor, Second Narrator, Contractor, Bookkeeper, Aggie Wainwright | Jackie Harris |
| u/s Noah Joad, Mayor of Hooverville, Camp Guard, Car Salesman 3, Man Going Back, 1st Agricultural Officer, Hooper Ranch Guard, Third Man, Young Man, Gas Station Attendant, Officer 1, Second Man with Club, Second Man | Sam Weiss |
| u/s Ma Joad, Winfield, Second Man in Tent | Isabella Shaffer |
| Ensemble | Mia Basulto |
Production Team
| Director | Julian Stetkevych |
| Asst. Directors | Owen Harsch Juliette Hill |
| Fight Choreographer | Jeff A.R. Jones |
| Fight Captain | Aubrey Kocsis |
| Dialect Designer & Coach | Kirby Wahl |
| Intimacy Choreographer | Kim Shively |
| Choreographer | Courtney Liu |
| Dance Captain | Kavalon Mills |
| Music Director | Graham Boggess |
| Scenic Designer | Natalie Taylor Hart |
| Costume Designer | Kayla Higbee |
| Asst. Costume Designer | Sadie Gompf |
| Hair & Makeup Designer | Olivia Novak |
| Lighting Designer | R. Mitchell Fore |
| Lightboard Programmer | Ilana Meissner |
| Sound Designer | Michael Smith |
| Asst. Sound Designer | Casey Spielman |
| Stage Manager | Talia Scheckman |
| Asst. Stage Managers | Gracie Guess Avery Smith |
| Production Manager | Suzanne D. Lucas |
| Technical Director | Margo Buchanan |
| Asst. Technical Director | Eliza Gregory |
| Staff Technical Director | Luis Silva |
| Staff Asst. Technical Director | Anthony Cacchione |
| Scenic Charge | Justin A. Miller |
| Props Manager | Lillian Chen |
| Deck Crew | Matthew Graham Brown Laila Cottman Gigi Elbitar Gennie Philpott Alex Prejean Gabe Waits |
| Costume Shop Manager | Heidi Jo Schiemer |
| Asst. Costume Shop Manager | Brianna Boucher |
| Wardrobe Supervisor | Sadie Gompf |
| Wardrobe Crew | Za’Naisha McGuire |
| Light Board Op | Ava Foley |
| Sound Board Op | Michael Catron |
| House Managers | Lillian Chen Ella Huestis Emily Moxon Ava Schneider |
| Poster Design | Sydney Dye |
Company
