Bainbridge Performing Arts’ upcoming production of Grapes of Wrath is going to be big.

Big for BPA, at least.

Considered a departure from its usual smaller, community theater-scale productions, BPA’s Grapes of Wrath will do its darndest to encapsulate John Steinbeck’s epic Dustbowl tale.

“It’s a big show,” Director Kate Carruthers said in Kitsap Sun story about the play. “There’s — what — 27 actors and musicians, lots of people and music. I know the last thing I did was (Yasmina Reza’s) ‘Art,’ with a cast of three.”

And some of the cast members are doing double, triple, quadruple duty to fill out the array of characters that pop in and out of the Steinbeck’s 1939 novel.

I recently ran into local author and super nice guy George Shannon, who has volunteered his talents for the play.

“What part are you?” I asked him.

“I play seven,” he said.

“Uh….who?” I asked

“I play seven parts.”

“Which one’s the biggest?”

“Well…one of my parts dies at the end…”

I’m a little more than halfway thought the book right now, so I asked George to reveal no more. I should be ready for George’s death scene by opening day, March 19.

For more about BPA’s Grapes of Wrath, check out Michael C. Moore’s story.