George (James Franco, left) and Lennie (Chris O'Dowd) are laborers and unlikely friends in Depression-era California in the new Broadway production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

"George and Lennie's dream was owning their own tract of land. That's still the American dream we have today — to own our own home. That message of hope is really what frames the play." ...

When two men have a symbiotic relationship, closer than brothers, more than companions, with one acting as guardian and protector, neither one well-educated or financially fixed, you have George ...