“To Kill A Mockingbird”

[rating=5] Almost every student in schools throughout the United States has read Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”. I believe it was 1960 ( my high school graduation year) that the book was published and about 10 years later became THE book to read. The film version starring Gregory Peck was a major hit and many of the kids watched the film over the book. The play has been done countless times, but over the years, changes come to be. Aaron Sorkin ( who has given us ” A Few Good Men”, “Being The Ricardos” and of course the amazing TV show “West Wing” has adapted the story that was the fame of Harper Lee ( her sequel did not fare well). It is onstage now at The James M. Nederlander Theatre ( many know this as the Oriental) starring Richard Thomas ( you remember John-Boy from The Waltons) as Atticus Finch, the lawyer who takes on a case that no one wanted. Mr. Thomas is sheer perfection in his interpretation of this character. As much as I enjoyed the film role played by Peck, I truly think this role was made to be played by Thomas. His children are played by Melanie Moore (Scout) and Justin Mark as Jem. They are strong and truly understand the nature of the story. Their summer visitor Dill is played to perfection by Steven Lee Johnson. This character also served as one of the three narrators with Scout and Jem. Dill is just there and his character adds a great deal to the movement of the tale.

The story is one of rape. Supposedly a woman in town, Mayella Ewell (Ariana Gayle Stucki) was raped by Tom Robinson (Yaegel T. Welch) an African American man, and has been arrested for this crime. He claims he has done nothing and could not have done such a thing. Her father, Bob Ewell ( deftly handled by Joey Collins) seeks revenge against Robinson, to the point where he is willing to break into the jail with some KKK friends to do the deed.

There are two stories involved, as from the start we learn that Bob Ewell is dead and that he allegedly fell while holding a knife and fell right onto the blade. It is then that we are taken back in time to learn exactly how we got to this place! Directed by Bartlett Sher with original music by Adam Guettel on a set designed by Miriam Buether, this is a story that is about the past, but is important in showing our young people that despite progress in our world, some things never change. Over the past several years, the news has been filled with stories about Black men who have been killed by police or others, for no reason at all. During the pandemic almost every week we witnessed another of these tragedies for the Black Community.

In this story, again in a small southern town, we see how things can be done where justice is not served. A jury is supposed to be made up of a panel of the peers of the defendant. In this trial there was an all White jury and an African American defendant. Even though Atticus showed that this man could not have done what was alleged, beyond a shadow of a doubt, justice was not served. I will not tell you the outcome, although depending on your age and when you went to school, you probably know, but I will tell you that this is a powerful production and a cast that truly makes the almost three hours fly by. It is a glorious story told by an amazing cast. In addition to all the previous mentioned cast members: Loke Smith, David Christopher Wells, Richard Poe, Greg Wood, Travis Johns, Liv Rooth, Mary Badham, Anthony Natale, and the amazing Jacqueline Williams as Calpurinia, the Finch’s housekeeper.

My radio listeners know that Jane doesn’t attend plays that are non-musical and over 90 minutes, but when she does, it is because she has heard great things. She loved this one and as we left said she was going to tell her canasta friends that they need to see this one. They can only see this production in Chicago thru May 29th.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays  2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  at 7:30 p.m.

Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

Sunday,   May 22nd at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m, .May 29 at 2:00 p.m. ONLY

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD range from $35.00 – $149.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing GroupSales@BroadwayInChicago.com. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

The James M. Nederlander Theatre is located at 24 West Randolph Street and easy to get to via public transportation.

All Covid Rules are in place. Vac cards and photo ID to enter and masks are to be worn at all times. While eating and drinking, you may lift, but please to protect the other audience members, respect them by keeping mouth and nose covered.

To learn more about this story visit www.ToKillAMockingbird.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “To Kill A Mockingbrid”.