Octavio Solis’ richly imagined “Mother Road” combines his lyrical poetry into a captivating play which runs through July 21 at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre. The story reverses the migration in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” with the last living members of the Joad family traveling from California back to Oklahoma in a never-ending search for home. In a nice touch, Solis’ reverse migration gains travelers, the opposite of Steinbeck’s tale.
Related Articles Director David Mendizábal brilliantly interprets Solis’ work, finding a design crew to create the perfect atmosphere and forging a tight ensemble to portray the diverse characters. Tanya Orellana’s scenic design prominently displays fragments of old barn-like structures with Cha See’s lighting reinforcing that motif on the side walls. Jake Rodriguez’s sound design, however, is the crowning touch with his evocative original music.
The ingenious artisans in Berkeley Rep’s props department outdid themselves creating a smaller version of a 1977 Dodge truck that not only takes the Joads to Oklahoma, but also becomes a motel room with the hood cleverly transforming into a diner. Revered local actor James Carpenter portrays Tom Joad’s son William, who has traveled from the family farm in Oklahoma to meet the last Joad relative in California. In ill health, William hopes to bring the relative back to the family farm and give it to him upon his death.
Carpenter’s interpretation brings out .