City Repertory Theatre (CRT) will bring John Steinbeck’s American classic, Of Mice and Men, to its Palm Coast stage this November, with performances running Nov. 6 through Nov. 15, 2026.
Set in Depression-era California, the story follows George and Lennie, two displaced men bound together by friendship and a simple dream — to own a little place of their own where they can live freely and answer to no one. As the theater describes it, George is “sharp, guarded, and fiercely protective,” while Lennie is “physically powerful but mentally vulnerable, a gentle soul whose strength often exceeds his ability to understand its consequences.” The two move from ranch to ranch searching for a place to belong, in a story that asks questions about compassion, responsibility, and what it means to care for another person.
Steinbeck’s work was first released as a novella in February 1937. With the book still on the bestseller charts, the author only slightly revised his original text for the stage version, which premiered on Broadway on Nov. 23, 1937. The stage version won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 1938.
The cast
Beau Wade and Jack Neiberlein star as George and Lennie. Andrew Blankenship plays Candy, a fellow dreamer; Danno Waddell plays Curley, the boss’s son; and Kalina Pickard plays Curley’s Wife. The theater said its intimate space lets audiences reconnect with Steinbeck’s work as live theater, bringing “all the tension, tenderness, and emotional intensity that make this story endure.”
A new series
The production marks the debut of CRT’s American Classic Series. Each fall, the theater plans to showcase “a show that isn’t often done,” said Artistic Director and Co-Founder John Sbordone. “There are really fine American playwrights of the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s who aren’t staged anymore. And so, as long as this continues, we will try to pick a show that highlights a fine talent of its era, a play that has stood the test of time.”
If you go
All performances take place at City Repertory Theatre, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, B-207, Palm Coast. The black-box theater seats just 45 people, which the theater said highlights its actors and draws the audience close to the action.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students and can be purchased at crtpalmcoast.com or through the box office at 386-585-9415. For more information about the show or CRT’s full 16th season, contact Julia Truilo at julia.truilo@gmail.com.
