FARMINGTON — The trials of a poor Midwest family during the dust bowl era will be brought to life in Theatre UMF’s production of “The Grapes of Wrath.”

The Tony Award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by playwright and director Frank Galati will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 25-27, and 2 p.m., Oct. 28, at UMF Alumni Theater on the University of Maine at Farmington campus.

Directed by Peter Simmel, UMF professor of theater, “The Grapes of Wrath” is the story of the Joads, a family of Oklahoma sharecroppers during America’s Great Depression. Besieged by debt and brutal dust storms, the family loses their farm and is forced to move.

With only a truck and a few possessions, the family, like countless others, moves on to seek a better future in California. As they travel in search of jobs, food and a new life, they come face to face with the harsh realities of homelessness, misfortune and unrelenting poverty. Though Steinbeck’s drama exposes the effects of injustice and intolerance, the Joad’s story in the end illustrates the indomitable human spirit.

“The Grapes of Wrath” and its conflict between the powerful and the powerless is a timeless story, Simmel said. “Every director always has a short list of plays that he hopes to put on sometime in his life. This play has always spoken to me in that way.”

Galati’s adaptation of “The Grapes of Wrath” premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre and went on to be performed at the La Jolla Playhouse, the National Theatre in London and on Broadway. Besides two Tony Awards, it won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Best Direction.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for all students and $5 for seniors. They may be purchased at the door or by calling 778-7465. Content is of an adult nature and suitable for mature audiences only.

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