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 déjí  vu as the misfit travelers bond on their journey to find home in time.

Cher ílvarez  (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 ílvarez (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