The Collegiate Chorale: the Grapes of Wrath March 22, 2010

The Collegiate Chorale presents the world premiere, two-act concert version of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie's musical version of Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck's epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, 'The Grapes of Wrath,' conducted by Ted Sperling with Jane Fonda as the narrator. According to Michael Korie, "In this concert version, we convey the story of the Joad family's journey across America in approximately two hours. We have retained many of the big musical set pieces, arias and choral ensembles, and we have eliminated much of the recitative, replacing it with a narrator who reads sections from the novel, allowing segues from those powerful passages seamlessly into music that continues the drama without loss of suspense or momentum. In addition, this version will feature music never heard in the original full staging of the opera." This production will be directed by Eric Simonson with lighting design by Frances Aronson, projection design by Wendall Harrington, sound design by Scott Lehrer and costume design by Jacob Climer.