Lauren Morton-Farmer
Staff Writer
Sophomore Jason Fangio and Brooks Asher
star in “The Grapes of Wrath”
Ben Young / Photo Editor
For anyone who read John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” in high school literature class and wondered, “Wouldn’t it be easier to rent the movie?” but never got around to watching the 1940s classic, a small ship has finally come in.
Beginning Tuesday, April 5 in Smothers Theatre, Frank Galati’s adaptation of the classic novel will spring to life on stage for all to see.
Directed by Cathy Thomas-Grant, this will be “Grapes’” second encounter with the Pepperdine kind.
“We had done it in Scotland this summer (with Stewart O’Rourke directing) and gotten an incredible response to it,” said Thomas-Grant of the time spent with the summer theater program at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “There’s a mixture of people from summer and new people. Those who were in it over the summer have really gotten a chance to deepen their understanding of the characters.”
Before they returned to the States, the group won positive reviews from five publications and was dubbed “the best looking actors of the festival” by one.
Good looks aside however, the reviews were enough to make any of the actors blush from flattery. The British Theatre Guide cast a light on them saying, “There are no weaknesses at all in the cast … (they have) managed to create one of the most accomplished, moving and compelling pieces of theatre on the Fringe.”
Three Weeks in Edinburgh, a guide to the festival, said of the group, “It is refreshing to be quite genuinely moved … A diamond in the making, the cast perform at a consistently high standard … It feels like what it is; the performance of a lifetime from a young cast.”
After the overwhelming response overseas, the decision was made to bring the show to stage once again for the Malibu audiences. Though many are in different roles the second time around, there are a number of returning cast members in the show this year.
One such actor is sophomore Janson Fangio who played Uncle John in Scotland but now takes on six different roles in the new production.
“When it was decided that we would recast the show and do it again here on campus, many were upset that this would hurt the amazing experience we all had in Scotland,” Fangio said. “(But) as one of the returning cast members, I have to say, it is a great experience in itself to have a second chance at an already great performance.
“This cast is very freshman heavy and they are doing wonders,” Fangio added. “Those returning have the chance to even play the same parts are able to take it in new and exciting directions.”
As part of the preparation for the show, Thomas-Grant had the entire cast read Steinbeck’s original novel, as well as other material, to become familiar with the story. Along with assigned reading, the cast was also fortunate enough to have Gary Sinise, who was instrumental in the adaptation of the book to the stage, come and speak about his experiences with the show.
“It was like talking to Shakespeare about Shakespeare’s plays,” said Thomas-Grant of Sinise’s March 10 visit. “He just reiterated (everything) … one of the themes is that we’re all part of one big soul, and everyone has to help everyone else.”
The meeting was especially helpful to junior Zac Hoogendyk, another returning member from the Edinburgh production.
“(Gary Sinise) originated the part of Tom Joad, which I am now playing, so naturally, he had a lot of insights into the work and my part in particular,” he said. “Really, any questions I had he had answers for.”
Though at first it may seem the story is grim and downtrodden with hopelessness, Thomas-Grant emphasized that this is not what they are focusing on.
“It’s a wonderful play for us to do because it not only is a great work of literature, but it speaks to the Christian mission about everyone being one big soul of man,” she said. “The dignity of the people is what we’ve tried to capture. It has just been a wonderful experience (and) everyone has just dived in 100 percent.”
Even last Wednesday, when a blackout forced the entire campus into darkness, the cast and crew didn’t falter. They had just gotten into the swing of it during a rehearsal when the lights went out. But a few flashlights kept the cast going through the night.
“I was really impressed that the actors kept their focus, that the crew kept their focus,” Thomas-Grant said.
The admiration goes both ways. Senior Lauren Robinson, for whom “Grapes” will be her final performance at Pepperdine, said she looks to Thomas-Grant with great affection.
“Just working with the cast has been wonderful, and being able to work with Cathy Thomas-Grant has been such a gift and a true learning experience,” she said.
Along with a stage draped in burlap material, the music of Woodie Guthrie is played throughout the show by the band — including a banjo (Brooks Asher), harmonica (Robert Galloway) and washboard (Randi Saxer). All of this contributes a rustic, bare-essentials feel to the story of the common man.
With only days before the curtain rises on opening night, the cast and crew are putting the finishing touches on a production that, based on true past experience, ought to live up to every song of praise it has received so far.
03-31-2005
