The Ridgefield Playhouse will present The Grapes of Wrath, the original award-winning film which stars Henry Fonda in the lead role of Tom Joad, based on John Steinbeck’s novel on Thursday, October 28, at 7:30 p.m.
When producer Daryl Zanuck proposed making a movie based on John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath -- directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and John Carradine -- it is said that he hired private detectives to verify the details of the disheartening plot; he was told the truth was even worse. The story takes place during the Great Depression and follows the fate of the Joad family who exhaust themselves trying to get to California to find a better life. The Ridgefield Playhouse will present The Grapes of Wrath, the original award-winning film which stars Henry Fonda in the lead role of Tom Joad based on John Steinbeck’s novel, on Thursday, October 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is the centerpiece of the town-wide initiative called The Big Read made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to The Ridgefield Playhouse in partnership with The Ridgefield Library. The goal is to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Ridgefield Playhouse is one of 75 not-for-profits -- including arts and cultural organizations, libraries, and universities -- to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2010 and June 2011. The Big Read in Ridgefield will focus on Steinbeck’s classic this fall giving the community the opportunity to come together to celebrate this book through film, concerts and discussions.
The Playhouse and Library are working with Ridgefield Public Schools to help incorporate The Grapes of Wrath into the curricula of appropriate grades and subjects. Educational support materials will be available through The Ridgefield Playhouse and The Ridgefield Library by calling the box office (203-438-5795). A brochure dedicated to The Big Read is being developed through the Playhouse-Library collaboration to help communicate all the related activities and special events involving many of the arts organizations in Ridgefield. For events and information regarding Ridgefield's The Big Read, visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
A 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to serve the Ridgefield community and neighboring environs by fostering an appreciation for the arts through enrichment and entertainment programs including movies, musical performances, theater and other performing art forms at a price and with a content accessible to a broad cross-section of the public, the Playhouse is celebrating its 10th anniversary this season. For more information about The Ridgefield Playhouse, call the box office at 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.
