NEA’s Big Read Draws to a Close

Throughout January, Door County residents and visitors have been reading, exploring and celebrating John Steinbeck’s classic 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath through The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

According to Alan Kopischke, Door County’s Big Read project manager and development director for Peninsula Players, the Big Read events are drawing an enthusiastic response from the Door County community. More than 300 people attended the January 7 opening-night presentation at the Door Community Auditorium, which featured Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, singer Scott Wakefield and author Norbert Blei; the January 11 discussion of the creative process of adapting the novel into an opera at Björklunden; and the January 16 opening of “The Grapes of Wrath: A Visual Story” exhibition at the Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art, which includes the work of photographers Dorothea Lange, Horace Bristol and Arthur Rothstein as well as that of costume designer Kärin Kopischke.

“We’re thrilled with the community response,” Kopischke said. “People are talking about the book everywhere you go. Everyone loves the events and discussions, and they’re asking us to do another Big Read next year!”

Kopischke said Peninsula Players Theatre will submit a letter of intent to the NEA in February to begin the process for having another Big Read in Door County in 2009.

As January draws to a close, however, there are still many exciting events for those eager to participate in the 2008 Door County Big Read: film screenings, community book-discussion groups, an environmental presentation and documentary, a musical performance and a clay bowl-making workshop. Two new events also have been added to the roster: a discussion of the religious themes in The Grapes of Wrath, and the closing-night reading of the Tony Award-winning play.

To learn more about Door County’s January program for NEA’s The Big Read, for updated information about scheduled events and to fill out a survey following attendance at any Door County Big Read events, please visit http://www.peninsulaplayers.com.