“I operate on the premise that a theatre’s job is to prevent people from leaving their seats before the entertainment is over.” I concur wholeheartedly with Tom Stoppard, who uttered those words in … Continue reading
Tagged with John Steinbeck …
Oklahoma City Rep’s “Grapes of Wrath”: classic stage tribute to its 75th year
“A different time is coming.” Folks moved on if they wanted to survive. Beginning in 1930, the Great Plains region entered an era of extreme drought, which combined with widespread unsustainable farming practices to create a massively destructive, widespread dust storm phenomenon designated “The Dust Bowl”. By the end of the 1930’s, more than 75% … Continue reading
Oklahoma honors Steinbeck in theatre, music and history
Troubadour Everyman and mythic storyteller. Play narrator and occasional actor. Interpretive instrumentalist, weaving an evocative score underneath searing human drama. Guardian of the precious flame of human spirit…multi-faceted, professional performance artist and musician Sonny Franks wears a number of significant hats in the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s celebrated novel The Grapes of Wrath, as … Continue reading
Of Art’s Magnificence: Theatre Arlington’s “Of Mice and Men”
Transforming major novels into viable stage plays presents challenges for adapters and performance companies, alike. Aside from the need to condense entire chapters into scenes without making the play appear like a Cliff Notes version, preserving the tone and voice of a novel in stage form and delivering the conflict/resolution aspects of viable theatre within … Continue reading
The Grapes of Wrath, A Living Scrapbook: Fort Worth Reads Big
“It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted – slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge. Until the whole throbbing thing emerges. And I can do it. I feel very strong to do it….” (6/10/1938) It’s not easy to imagine John Steinbeck’s 1939 … Continue reading
criticalrant.com Alexandra Bonifield 