Terry Kinney & Frank Galati Reunite for World Premiere of John Steinbeck's East of Eden

Terry Kinney and Frank Galati, who were both part of the Tony-winning 1990 Broadway production of The Grapes of Wrath, are reuniting for another John Steinbeck work. Galati will adapt and Kinney direct the world premiere of Steinbeck’s East of Eden as part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 2015-16 season. The production will play a limited engagement September 15 through November 15 in the Chicago venue’s Downstairs Theatre.

Escaping a turbulent past, Adam Trask is determined to make a new start in California’s Salinas Valley. Adam and his wife Kate settle on a beautiful farm, and soon Kate gives birth to twins Caleb and Aaron. But family history, sibling rivalry and the impending danger of World War One will threaten their little piece of paradise.

Galati adapted and helmed The Grapes of Wrath, which won Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Direction of a Play in 1990; Kinney received a Tony nod for his portrayal of Jim Casy in the original cast. The show premiered at Steppenwolf in 1988.

Nobel Prize winner Steinbeck originally published East of Eden in 1952. Elia Kazan’s classic 1995 film of the same name starred Julie Harris and James Dean and was based on the second half of Steinbeck’s novel.

The season will also include the world premiere of Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe in spring 2016 and the Chicago premieres of Bruce Norris' Domesticated, Annie Baker’s The Flick and Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy.