ROUTE 66 WAS ONE MOTHER OF A ROAD
Now playing at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, Mother Road is an epic journey of self-discovery and family — a sequel to the famous 1939 John Steinbeck novel The Grapes of Wrath in which we follow the sad travels of Tom Joad and his family, who flee the desperation of Oklahoma’s dustbowl calamity in a truck along Route 66 hoping for a safe farming life in California. The Joads headed West across the Dust Bowl on the “mother road” in their old truck to seek a better life for themselves, but Tom Joad and family end up as poor migrant farm workers.
Emilio Garcia-Sanchez (Martín Jodes) and James Carpenter (William Joad)
Emilio Garcia-Sanchez
In Octavio Solis’s Mother Road, it’s a reversal. There is one final Joad still living in Oklahoma 80 years later, Tom’s distant cousin William Joad (the forceful and sympathetic James Carpenter, looking thin and frail). Ridden with cancer and living on borrowed time, he desperately wants to leave his now-fertile Oklahoma farm to kin. His lawyer Roger (played with just the right amount of slimy double talk by Michael Moreland Milligan) has located Martín Jodes (handsome and headstrong Emilio Garcia-Sanchez), a young Mexican-American former farm worker who is the great-grandson of Tom Joad. After much convincing about the legitimacy of his “fortune” in Oklahoma, Martín reluctantly agrees to accompany William back home from California to Oklahoma to see for himself this farm and possibly a better life for himself. They set out across Route 66 on the “mother road” in William’s vintage Dodge truck.
The cast of Mother Road
The cast of Mother Road
As with any great adventure, the duo encounters friend and foe along the way. First, they pick up Martín’s friend “Mo” an outspoken mixed-race lesbian farmworker (Lindsey Rico). When Martín’s quick temper is easily set off by prejudiced white cops and the group gets in a few skirmishes. James (Branden Davon Lindsay), a pal of Martín, comes to the group’s aid and joins the travelers. Discoveries and secrets are revealed on a trek that is set to the invisible clock of William’s ebbing health. It’s a Wizard of Oz déjà vu as the misfit travelers bond on their journey to find home in time.
Cher Álvarez (Amelia), James Carpenter (William Joad), Emilio Garcia-Sanchez (Martín Jodes)
James Carpenter (William Joad), Lindsay Rico (Mo), and Emilio Garcia-Sanchez (Martín Jodes)
The seven-actor ensemble plays numerous characters along the journey, even having a moment to shine as a Greek chorus in action, words, and song (original music by Ritmos Tropicosmos). The other actors Daniel Duque-Estrada, Courtney Walsh, Benny Wayne Sully and Cher Álvarez (in flashbacks as Martín’s fiancee Amelia) are phenomenal. Garcia-Sanchez captures attention even when his character is in the background merely reacting.
Emilio Garcia-Sanchez (Martín Jodes) and Daniel Duque-Estrada (Abelardo)
The use of minimal props on Tanya Orellana‘s wide set serves well as a metaphor for the wide open dust bowl. The biggest and best prop — if you can call it that — is a vintage Dodge truck which starts up, has smoke coming out of the tailpipe and, seemingly, a life of its own.
Michael Moreland Milligan (Roger), Benny Wayne Sully (Curtis),
Emilio Garcia-Sanchez (Martín Jodes),
Courtney Walsh (Ivy), and Branden Davon Lindsay (James)
The themes of chosen family and searching for a place to call home are universal. Although considered a sequel to The Grapes of Wrath, Octavio Solis’s story stands alone. Directed with thoughtfulness by Berkeley Rep’s own David Mendizábal, this is an evening of provocative, inspiring theater with a traditional tale told anew.
photos by Kevin Berne/Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Emilio Garcia-Sanchez (Martín Jodes), Lindsay Rico (Mo),
James Carpenter (William Joad), and Courtney Walsh (Ivy)
Mother Road
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre, 2025 Addison Street @ Shattuck
ends on July 21, 2024
for tickets, call 510.647.2949 or visit Berkeley Rep
