Inspired by John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of
Wrath, Octavio Solis’s provocative drama Mother
Road finds a hardworking surviving member of the Joad
family seeking kin to inherit the family farm. The Department of
Theatre and Dance presents this “sequel” to the American classic
as the opening production of the 2026-2027 season. The production
opens Nov. 19 in the Main Theatre, Wright Hall.
Performances will be Nov. 19-21 and Dec. 3-4 at 7 p.m. with 2
p.m. matinees on Nov. 21 and Dec. 5. Tickets go on sale in early
October 2026.
A festival of original student work, directed, designed, and
performed by students will take place in Wyatt Pavilion Theatre
October 31-November 2, 2025. Each production will be offered at
least twice during the run, depending upon the total number and
run time of successful proposals. Attention to staging and
design, level of investment and production resources will be
decided after the initial programming; many design elements will
be shared across the works.
