←Recommendations of Mother Road

Octavio Solis expands the notion of who counts as family and raises a group of unlike humans to their full worth by writing their characters fully and forcing Tom Joad to confront his own heart's judgments in a spin-off from Steinbeck that likely would find the original author watching his words.

In this brilliant sequel to one of English Literature's greatest novels, Octavio Solis gives Steinbeck a run for his money. This is a brilliant, powerful and beautiful play that should be put onstage sooner than soon.

The restless core of the American spirit is deep in the heart of Octavio Solis’ modern day continuation of Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” Brutally honest and searingly beautiful, Solis evokes the landscape of America both then and now, honoring the source material while crafting a work that stands on its own as a winning piece of contemporary theatre. Vividly drawn characters, and oh so theatrical in its conception, MOTHER ROAD is a stunner with so many opportunities for directors, actors, and designers to physically embody the world Solis has created for them, and for us.

A powerful, moving story of the migrant experience on the journey and struggle for a better life. Excellent.

I saw a reading of a portion of this at the William Inge Festival in 2019 and has been in my mind ever since. Octavio Solis takes up the tale of the Joads and brings it to the present with all of the power and scope of Steinbeck's story. Intimate yet epic, the return journey to Oklahoma brings back the memories of the first journey: windswept, desolate, yet looking for hope and peace. It is a portrait of how we have changed in so many ways, but still cling to threads and rough pavement that brought us here.

A gorgeous piece that feels both huge and small at the same time. The themes, the theatricality of the chorus and their lyrical verse, the theatrical conceit of the road trip, and the malleability of time and space are epic in scope. That said, this piece never loses sight of the real and complex humans at the center of it. Solis has created such exquisite characters and reveals their strengths and flaws with beautiful storytelling. Many of the haunting stage images were still vividly in my mind after I read the script. I'd love to see it onstage!

This is such a stunning work of art. My heart stopped halfway through and I didn't start breathing again until five minutes after Curtain. The compelling and lyrical poetry of the chorus keeps tightening the screws and ramping up the pace until the final page. Generations of injustice upon injustice continue to heap dirt on the graves of the Joad family. Gripping. Thrilling. Moving. My own words don't do it justice. Read it. Produce it. See it.

A stunning contribution to literature, this play explores the sinewy relationship between the generations, in an epic journey from West to East. I'm grateful to have seen the premiere production at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and hope that theatres across the country will share this beautiful, vital work. Solis weaves language rich with poetry and peerless vernacular. He's a masterful storyteller, and this play sings.

This is an astonishing play that takes TGoW, turns it inside out, and mirrors its truths through the eyes of its literal and spiritual descendents for today's society. Any theatrical artist whose life is connected to migrants of any generation or background will find gold here.