O'Neill and Steinbeck Onstage

On the horizon of the dusty plains is the hope of opportunities afforded by the Golden State, where they imagine they can pluck oranges from the trees and crush grapes with their feet.

Matt Gottlieb beautifully portrays an evangelical preacher turned humanist, spending much of the action off by himself pondering where on earth he's going and what on earth he's done. Mostly he's struggling for a definition of what's holy, and it usually settles on something closer to men and women than to God: "When you're working together, harnessed to the whole shebang."

PHOTO BY CRAIG SCHWARTZ

Deborah Strang and Steve Coombs in The Grapes of Wrath

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REDCAT: Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater

631 W. Second St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Downtown

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A Noise Within

3352 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Category: Theaters

Region: Glendale

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More About

• Richard Maxwell
• Eugene O'Neill
• John Steinbeck
• Economic Issues
• Recessions and Depressions

The anguish here is inflicted by both God and men, particularly by the sheriffs of Hooverville, who remind us what Cesar Chavez was fighting for and against.

The stage is populated by wonderful actors, such as Deborah Strang as Ma Joad, indescribably nuanced in her portrayal of a dignified woman whose strength is cleaved by apprehension; by Lindsey Ginter as her simple husband, perpetually eager to avoid conflict and to accommodate; and by Steve Coombs as their short-tempered, ex-con son, who's quite the opposite of his dad.

Amidst the brutality of what would today be called climate change, the play is a battle cry for all of us to treat each other with dignity. Its humane view is almost theological, biblical, in its depiction of one character's sacrifice for his people.

Both the adaptation and the staging are wistfully free of sentimentality, like a fresh breeze that clears away all that dust.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH | Adapted by Frank Galati from John Steinbeck's novel | A Noise Within | 3342 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | Sat., Feb. 23, 8 p.m.; March 3, 2 & 8 p.m.; in rep through May 11, see website for schedule | (626) 356-3100 | anoisewithin.org

EARLY PLAYS | By Eugene O'Neill | Presented by the Wooster Group and New York City Players | REDCAT, 631 E. Second St., dwntwn. | Closed