As a young lad with the gift of an air rifle in hand, Atticus Finch was told by his father that it was a crime against God, a sin, to kill a mockingbird. Why he asked? Because they are innocent, his father replied. Atticus Finch would grow up to become a lawyer.
As classical theatrical events are portrayed, few can be as emotionally captivating as Harper Lee’s outstanding vision of Southern life in the 1930’s as “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Since it went on national tour in March, over a million people in 44 cities have witnessed this emotional drama. You have the unique opportunity to recapture all of its dramatic impact in Aaron Sorkin’s new version, with an emphasis on race, justice and equality, with direction by Bartlett Sher, when it triumphantly enters the Palace Theater in Waterbury from Tuesday, November 3 to Sunday, November 5.
Fall under the spell of Richard Thomas’ Atticus Finch, a determined defender of truth, who wants to help a black man Tom Robinson, portrayed by Yaegel T. Welch. Tom has been accused of raping Maryella Ewell, a young white woman. It’s the time of the Great Depression, in 1933, and Attorney Finch is not applauded by many of the townsfolk for taking on this controversial case. His own children, Jean Louise Finch, all of six years old, and known as Scout (Maeve Moynihan) and her older brother Jeremy, called Jem (Justin Mark), are proud of their father for defending Tom’s rights and trying to prove his innocence. They are cared for by a black nanny, Calpurnia, portrayed by Jacqueline Williams, who watches over them like a mother hen with her brood.
Scout is the all-knowing narrator of the play who pals around with her brother Jem and with Dill (Steven Lee Johnson), a boy who comes to stay with his aunts every summer. The trio are especially fascinated with a recluse named “Boo” Radley (Ian Bedford) who hasn’t been seen for years. Many incidents in Harper Lee’s childhood parallel what happens in Maycomb, including her father being an attorney who himself defended two black men accused of murder who were convicted and hanged. He never tried a criminal case again.
She also had a friend who would become the novelist Truman Capote in Dill. They often wrote and acted out imaginative tales. For tickets ($45 to $125), call the Palace, 100 Main Street, Waterbury at 203-346-2000 or online at palacetheaterct.org. Performances are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Come experience Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, called by 60 Minutes “the most successful play in Broadway history” and by Rolling Stones 5 stars and “an emotionally shattering landmark production of an American classic.” This is excellent dramatic theater that will stay with you long after the applause is but a mere echo.
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