Frank Galati's stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," which chronicles the fictional Joad family's troubles during the Dust Bowl, has found new relevance in light of the nation's current economic woes. Theater department chair Peter Hackett's inspired and realistic take on the play premiered Thursday evening as the Winter term's Mainstage production.
In order to flesh out the practical component of the family's epic journey and add a realistic quality to their troubles, Hackett worked closely with a team of Dartmouth students and faculty to generate a naturalistic interpretation of the play. Hackett achieved this effect partly by incorporating the presence of earth, fire and water.
"I saw this as a very spiritual play, so I wanted to give it an earthy and authentic feel which would help audiences connect with the plight of the Joads," Hackett said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
When the play called for a flood or a burial of an important character, the actors interacted with actual water and dirt, rather than symbolic representations of the materials, as in most productions. This touch of realism made the action seem even more immediate and tragic.
Joe Kardon '09, who plays Tom Joad in the play, explained that the physicality of the play made it easier for him to connect with the plight of his character.
Kardon said this connection grew fom "feeling the dirt under my fingernails and experiencing that cooling sensation of jumping in the water after sweating on stage."
Kardon also gained an appreciation for his character and those who lived in his time period from his reading of the book "The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl."
"All of this helped me really understand what Tom, as well as people in the real Great Depression, must have gone through," Kardon explained.
Judging from the authenticity of the performances, Kardon must not have been the only actor who found it easy to tap into his character.
It was hard to point out any weak links, as every actor seemed to have etched out his or her own place in the dramatic progression of the story.
Even in large ensemble scenes, the blocking of the various actors was so intricate and efficient that the action seemed like it actually could have taken during the Depression of the 1930s.
Juliet Coffey '09, who plays Rose of Sharon, also approached her character with ease.
"This was my first play which I had a large role in, but it was really interesting to see the arc of my character from the beginning of the story to the conclusion," she said.
Coffey's character plays a large part in the shift towards hopefulness at the end of the play.
She explained that Hackett told his actors to keep this glimmer of hope in mind throughout the play, even as the Joads face life-altering changes.
"I try to give my actors cues for how they might depict their characters, and then I have them generate the information and add their own unique take on it," Hackett said. "It's interesting to see all the different aspects that various actors can bring to the table."
Hackett had already directed "Grapes of Wrath" twice before taking up his position in Dartmouth's theater department -- first in 1992 during his time as artistic director at the Cleveland Playhouse and later in 1995 at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee as part of a graduate program.
Rather than drawing upon his previous stagings of the play, however, Hackett said he purposefully took a different approach to the Dartmouth production. In addition to his decision to use elemental set design, Hackett integrated live music into the play to effect his new approach.
Hackett hired Richard Stillman '77 to direct a fiddler and a guitar player throughout the course of the play. This music helped evoke an even more visceral response from the audience, keeping viewers engaged in the story.
At the beginning of the play, Hackett played a 30-second clip from a Depression-era documentary by Ralph Steiner '21 about Dust Bowl workers and the trials faced by their families. Hackett explained that this clip served as a launch pad for the artistic direction of the production.
"The idea was to replicate the feel of this documentary, as well as some famous Depression-era photographs, through various uses of lighting and sound in the play," Hackett said.
When Hackett and other members of the theater department decided to produce this play last year, they had no idea how relevant the play would become as the year progressed, they said.
Now that the United States has officially entered a recession, "Grapes of Wrath" has taken on a whole new level of meaning for both audience members and actors alike.
"Every single day, Americans are losing jobs," Kardon said. "Even Dartmouth employees are getting laid off now that the College has to make budget cuts."
Kardon said he gained a particular sense for the emotions associated with his current economic downturn from his work last summer on the campaign of now-President Barack Obama.
"I really connect with the feeling of loss and disenfranchisement that is occurring on a daily basis in today's economy," he said.
This relevance adds a final dimension to the emotional impact of the play. As the Joads experience death, poverty and near starvation, audience members cannot help but feel deeply invested in their plight.
Eventually, the audience and the fictional citizens on stage meld together into one touching and cathartic entity.
"Grapes of Wrath" will also be performed Feb. 25 through Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. There is a final matinee performance on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Hopkins Center.
The original version of this article included a quote from Joe Kardon '09 that indicated that his involvement with the Mainstage production of "The Grapes of Wrath" led him to connect with the emotions associated with the economic downturn. In fact, Kardon said the felt that connection after working on the campaign of now-President Barack Obama. In addition, the article incorrectly stated that Kardon gained an understanding of his character, Tom, and those in the Great Depression from his work in the play, rather than from his reading of the book "The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl," by Timothy Egan. The article incorrectly quoted Kardon as saying that "It's like the Depression is happening all over again."
