AHOSKIE – Don’t miss the Tony Awards “Best Play” – The Grapes of Wrath at The Gallery Theatre, 117 W. Main Street, Ahoskie, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, 16, 22, 23, and 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 and 24.

This production features a large cast under the direction of veteran director Hope Miller.

Renowned first as a novel, and then as a prize-winning motion picture, and then as a award winning play by Frank Galati, The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family and their flight from the dust bowl of Oklahoma is familiar to all.

Desperately proud, but reduced to poverty by the loss of their farm, the Joads pile their few possessions

on a battered old truck and head west for California, hoping to find work and a better life.

Led by the indomitable Ma Joad, who is determined to keep the family together at any cost, and by the volatile young Tom Joad, an ex-convict who grows increasingly impatient with the intolerance and exploitation that they encounter on their trek, the Joads must deal with death and terrible deprivation before reaching their destination—where their waning hopes are dealt a final blow by the stark realities of the Great Depression.

And yet, despite the anguish and suffering that it depicts, the play becomes in the final essence a soaring and deeply moving affirmation of the indomitability of the human spirit and of the essential goodness and strength that—then as now—reside in the hearts and minds of the “common man,” throughout the world.

General admission tickets are: adult $15, senior (62+) $13 and student $11. Pay by credit card, check, or cash.

For more information call the Gallery Theatre at 252-332-2976.

This project was supported by the N. C. Arts Council a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.