Sweet fruit

Up in the foothills, a production of The Grapes of Wrath is packing a powerful emotional punch. Grass Valley’s Center for the Arts has created a remarkable vision of John Steinbeck’s Depression-era odyssey through memorable performances, inventive staging and sentimental music.

Above all, this Grapes of Wrath honors Steinbeck’s haunting language and the poignancy of the Joad family’s dignity and perseverance against impossible odds.

The simple tale of a displaced Dust Bowl farm family is set in the mid-’30s, just a couple years before the book was published in 1939. It was a contemporary story at the time, and since the poor migrants Steinbeck portrayed were still present throughout California, the book was also considered to be highly political.

The Grapes of Wrath is a quintessential California tale about a family on a quest for a better life that sets its sights on the Golden State. After a stint in prison, Tom Joad returns to his Oklahoma sharecropping family, only to find the farm foreclosed and everyone packing up a dilapidated Hudson pickup truck. The narrative encompasses the family’s perilous road trek to California and the cold, hard truth they find in dreary migrant camps.

There’s a large cast, more than 30 members, including a small band of musicians. Powerful performances come from Jimmy McCammon as Tom Joad, Parker White as Pa, Vann B. Dart as Uncle John and Richard Winters as Preacher Jim Casey. The actresses take longer to warm up, but at the end Barbara Lynn as Ma and Sarah Moore as Rose of Sharon leave lasting impressions, especially in the memorable closing tableau.

Director Diane Fetterly uses the expansive stage wisely, highlighting simple moments that evoke both the treacherous road journey and the claustrophobia of the camps. Fetterly keeps the kinetic cast constantly moving along with the story, bouncing in the rolling dilapidated truck or setting up camp as minor characters crisscross the stage.

Designer Michael Baranowski wisely sticks to stark sets with few props. He evokes sentimentality and pathos through a soft dust storm, the red glow of camp fires, a real watering hole, and actual rain pouring down on the stage. Costume designer Leslie Boles’ muted colors and dusty dresses add to the period mood, as do musicians playing spirituals and tunes of the era throughout the production.