Cover art by Doug Armstrong

Of Grapes and Nuts

The Illegitimate Players, Doug Armstrong, Keith Cooper, Maureen Morley

Play Description

In the words of The Chicago Reader, “The witty script supplies the one thing Steinbeck lacked: a sense of humor! … OF GRAPES AND NUTS dogs its original like a comic bloodhound.” Chicago’s WBBM Radio said “I have a feeling that were he alive today, John Steinbeck would be chuckling more than just a little … OF GRAPES AND NUTS scoots along, as Tom Joad might say, like a 12-toed man in a foot race.”

Production Info

Cast: 6 total (2 female, 4 male)
Full Length Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes

Categories: The Plays Tags: Spoof

Reviews
About the Author(s)
About the Book
Special Notes

Press Quotes

“‘It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.’ That opening line strangely summarizes the heartbreak of GRAPES OF WRATH and sets the tone for this clever show. Irreverent on its surface, hilariously accurate in its mimicry, OF GRAPES AND NUTS is a tribute par excellence to Steinbeck …” —Susan Pellowe, Plays International

“The Players have scaled comic heights before. Their GLASS MENDACITY was the most devastating send-up of Tennessee Williams since his last four plays, and ALL MY SPITE reduced Arthur Miller to an hour-long gut buster. But with OF GRAPES AND NUTS, a surefire satire on Steinbeck, they’ve struck the mother lode of comedy.” —Lawrence Bommer, Reader

Author(s)

The Illegitimate Players
From the mid-eighties to the mid-nineties, a small group of Chicago Improvisational actors formed a cabaret troupe, forged from the classes of The Second City and invaded a tiny pub on Fullerton Avenue called The Roxy. The result was a decade long love affair with critics and audiences alike. From the very first musical-comedy revue, NEAR NORTHSIDE STORY, the Illegitimate Players proved their staying power. After convincing The Roxy owners to share their back room, converting it into a black box theater, their first revue ran for over a year under the direction of Second City's own Don DePollo. The consistent sell-out audiences prompted Group W Cable to tape the revue for Midwest television broadcast. This endeavor wrangled a Chicago Emmy Award. This taste for telecast was soon followed by video pieces for Chicago WTTW's Image Union program. Also performing semi-regularly on radio's Q101. And thus it had begun. NEAR NORTHSIDE STORY was answered by two other well received revues, OUT ON A WHIM and ILLEGITIMATE PLAYERS LIVE. But already the "IllGits" were branching out. To better finance their endeavors, they incorporated as "The Comedy Option" to write, video, and perform for corporation's rollout and sales meetings. They became regular client's for many Fortune 500 corporations, including First Chicago Bank, Abbot Labs, Boston Mass Mutual ... Their Emmy award brought Group W Cable back to pitch a series for the tri-state area. That offer soon became The Illegitimate Players on TV. A 26-week sketch comedy lambasting the television industry. Along with the live revue, the television show, and the corporate shows, they took on weekly hosting at Chicago's "Catch a Rising Star" downtown. The Illegitimate Players started working in longer form pieces and soon abandoned revue comedy to embark on a string of literary parodies for the legitimate stage. From their first full-length play THE GLASS MENDACITY, it was clear that critics liked what they saw. Their works were published first by Chicago Plays Inc. and currently by Broadway Publishing Inc. These stories live on in productions all over the country and the UK.
Keith Cooper
Keith Cooper was a member of Chicago's Illegitimate Players.
Doug Armstrong
Doug Armstrong was a member of Chicago's Illegitimate Players.
Maureen Morley
Maureen Morley was a member of Chicago's Illegitimate Players.

Book Information

Publisher	BPPI
Publication Date	6/1/2000
Pages	66
ISBN	9780881451740

Special Notes

If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:

Originally produced by The Illegitimate Players, Chicago

In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:

Of Grapes and Nuts is produced
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com