Posted: Monday, April 9, 2018

The University of Evansville Department of Theatre’s final production of the season, The Grapes of Wrath, by Frank Galati, based on the novel by John Steinbeck, opens Friday, Apr. 13, at 7:30 p.m., in Shanklin Theatre. Additional performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on April 14, 19, 20, and 21, and at 2:00 p.m. on April 15 and 22.

This Tony Award-winning play is an expansive retelling of John Steinbeck’s brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The riveting tale follows the impoverished Joad family’s flight from the Dust Bowl and into the promised land found out West. Full of loss, triumph, and endless struggle, this timeless epic is a celebration of the soaring tenacity of the human spirit.

UE professor John David Lutz directs The Grapes of Wrath. UE department chair Eric Renschler serves as the scenic designer; UE students Hilary Rubio from San Antonio, Texas, is the costume designer; Renée Voteau, St. Louis, Mo., is the lighting designer; Serenity Rowland, Durham, N.C., is the sound designer; Bailey Brandvold, Great Falls, Mont., is the dramaturg; and Emma Blevins, San Antonio, Texas, is the stage manager. UE professor Chuck Meacham serves as the technical director.

The cast features UE students Joseph W. Schwalb from Milwaukee, Wis., as Tom Joad; Aaron Gonner, Dubuque, Iowa, as Jim Casy; Shannon White, Rockwall, Texas, as Ma Joad; Isaac Baker, Bowling Green, Ky., as Pa Joad; Gina DeLise, Woodstock, Ga., as Rose of Sharon, Davis Brinker, Minneapolis, Minn., as Uncle John, and Jackson Pitt, McKinney, Texas, as Al Joad.

Ticket prices are $18 for adults and $16 for senior adults, students, and UE faculty and staff.

Made possible by a generous grant from the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, all high school, students can obtain free tickets by going to the UE Theatre Ticket Office. UE students may obtain one free student rush ticket beginning at noon on the day of the performance they wish to attend. Tickets may be purchased by calling 812-488–2031, Monday through Friday, noon-5:00 p.m.

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