Flagstaff Cultural Partners and The National Steinbeck Center present “Hard Times On the Mother Road: Hard Scrabble Stories in Song and Drama” featuring Tony Norris, Sid Hausman and the Dirty Thirties at The Coconino Center for the Arts on October 11, 2013 at 7 p.m. Relive America’s troubled odyssey along Route 66 when seasoned performers Tony Norris and Sid Hausman sing the songs of Woody Guthrie, with themes of struggle and irrepressible hope. Experience the power of John Steinbeck’s words through stark snapshots of The Grapes of Wrath and excerpts from his journal brought to life by the Dirty Thirties under the direction of Kathleen M. McGeever.

The performance is offered in conjunction with the 75th Anniversary The Grapes of Wrath Journey. The National Steinbeck Center will retrace the journey that The Grapes of Wrath’s Joad family took along America’s Route 66 through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona at the height of the Dust Bowl—toward California and their hopes of a better life. The trip, from October 4- 14, 2013, will be led by artists, writers, musicians and others who will be actively engaged in exploring the human experience of struggle and resilience—each charged with creating new work inspired by the journey, and makes a stop in Flagstaff on October 11. They will interview people along the route, create artistic explorations on these themes and broadcast them via social media, inviting creative multi-media responses from the public.

The performance is offered in conjunction with the 75th Anniversary The Grapes of Wrath Journey. The National Steinbeck Center will retrace the journey that The Grapes of Wrath’s Joad family took along America’s Route 66 through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona at the height of the Dust Bowl—toward California and their hopes of a better life. The trip, from October 4- 14, 2013, will be led by artists, writers, musicians and others who will be actively engaged in exploring the human experience of struggle and resilience—each charged with creating new work inspired by the journey, and makes a stop in Flagstaff on October 11. They will interview people along the route, create artistic explorations on these themes and broadcast them via social media, inviting creative multi-media responses from the public.