MOTHER ROAD

Regional Premiere! Acclaimed Mexican American playwright Octavio Solis creates an unforgettable story for the 21st century in a Modern-Day sequel to John Steinbeck’s epic The Grapes of Wrath. Set almost 90 years after the Joad family’s journey west, William Joad believes he is the family’s sole descendant with no heir to pass the family’s original Oklahoma farm on to – until he discovers Martín Jodes, a young Mexican American migrant worker who is descended from Steinbeck’s character Tom Joad. In a reversal of the family’s original journey, William and Martín embark on an epic trip, taking Route 66, the Mother Road, from California back to Oklahoma while forming an unexpected bond. Featuring folk-inspired music and poetry woven through the scenes by a chorus of characters they meet along the way, Mother Road reveals family mysteries and answers to long-forgotten questions in what San Francisco’s Theatre Eddys proclaims “…a must-see!”

“When the restless singing in your heart says go … look for us, the faces of the road:” – Act 1, Mother Road

MOTHER ROAD Playbill

Production Information
Runtime: Approximately two hours and 15 minutes including one 15-minute intermission
Stage Effects Advisory: Fog, gunshots and blood
Content Advisory: Adult situations, racialized language, violence

MOTHER ROAD is presented in partnership with Oklahoma City University. MOTHER ROAD is produced by special arrangement with BRET ADAMS, LTD., 261 W. 35th St, Suite 204, New York, NY 10001. www.bretadamsltd.net. World premiere produced by Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Artistic Director, Bill Rauch, and Executive Director, Cynthia Rider. The play was produced in a developmental production by the Goodman Theatre, Chicago in the New Stages Festival. Robert Falls, Artistic Director, and Roche Schulfer, Executive Director, was commissioned by the National Steinbeck Center and was first read as part of the National Steinbeck Festival.