David Mirvish/To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Bartlett Sher, CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, Nov. 21 to 26, RETURN ENGAGEMENT Mar. 28 to Jun. 2, 2024. Tickets right here.

There’s really a monument to Atticus Finch beside the Outdated Courthouse in Monroeville, Alabama. The bronze plaque, set in a stone boulder, was commissioned by the Alabama Bar Affiliation, and the heading reads: “Atticus Finch Lawyer — Hero”.

Monroeville was the hometown of Harper Lee (1926-2016), the creator of Atticus Finch, the small city southern lawyer who defends an harmless Black man accused of raping a White lady in 1934, within the fictional city of Maycomb, Alabama (a.okay.a. Monroeville). Atticus is a key determine in Lee’s 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

The e-book, thought of by many as one of many biggest ever written, has been a mainstay of college curricula because it burst onto the scene, and numerous college students have come away with a imaginative and prescient of the noble, stately, honourable man that’s Atticus. The 1962 acclaimed film starring Gregory Peck, not solely netted the actor an Academy Award for Finest Actor, however additional cemented the picture of the great and the most effective that’s Atticus Finch.

If that is the hero that you’re anticipating within the play TKAM (because the title is thought within the commerce), that simply completed a sold-out run in Toronto, and will likely be making a possible sold-out return within the new yr, you might be in for a shock. The Atticus on this manufacturing, as portrayed by Richard Thomas, is a flawed human being, and as a substitute of the tender, endearing and earnest tone of the beloved novel, you may be assaulted by a really highly effective and shifting theatrical expertise.

In different phrases, this TKAM, which debuted in 2018, is uncooked, edgy and relentless, however then, that ought to come as no shock while you take a look at the creators.

Author Aaron Sorkin created the acclaimed, hard-hitting TV sequence The West Wing and The Newsroom. He additionally wrote the disturbing, Tony Award-nominated play A Few Good Males, and received an Oscar for Finest Tailored Screenplay for the extensively praised film, The Social Community. Director Bartlett Sher is Broadway royalty, with 9 Tony nominations below his belt.

In reality, Sorkin’s producer Scott Rudin was sued by the Lee property for deviating away from the e-book, making Atticus lower than good, however the case was in the end settled out of court docket. Sorkin additionally made different key adjustments.

Should you bear in mind the novel, it follows three years within the lifetime of Scout, Atticus’ daughter, starting when she was six. Scout is the narrator, and it takes nearly to the center of the novel till the trial kicks in. In Sorkin’s model, the play begins with the trial, and really intense courtroom scenes are interpolated all through the play. That an harmless man is dealing with the dying penalty may be very a lot on our minds.

There are three narrators, all grownup actors, though they give the impression of being younger — Scout (Melanie Moore), her brother Jem (Justin Mark), and their buddy Dill Harris (Steven Lee Johnson). This makes Atticus the central character, not Scout. It is usually extra life like to have Sorkin’s subtle textual content come from adults slightly than youngsters. These three characters carry the present as they weave in, out and across the scenes.

As nicely, Sorkin has given the Black characters extra visibility than they’ve within the novel. The Finch’s housekeeper Calpurnia (Jaqueline Williams), and the accused man Tom Robinson (Yaegel T. Welch) present sturdy personalities and particular factors of view.

The villain, Bob Ewell (Ted Koch), father of supposed rape sufferer Mayella (Mariah Lee) and Tom’s accuser, is a powerful drive, as is Decide Taylor (Jeff Nonetheless) who convinces Atticus to defend Tom to provide him a greater likelihood of avoiding the dying penalty. Horace Gilmer (Christopher R. Ellis) is a suitably aggressive prosecutor, whereas Sheriff Heck Tate (Travis Johns) is your typical small city lawman. In fact, there’s the mysterious Boo Radley (Ian Bedford — who additionally performs the hapless farmer, Mr. Cunningham).

There’s additionally a nod to the previous. The kid actress Mary Badham, who was nominated for a supporting Oscar for her position as Scout within the movie, is now on stage enjoying Mrs. Henry Dubose, the youngsters’s nemesis, and she or he does an amazing job as an evil outdated lady.

The arc of Atticus’s character is fantastically outlined. Thomas tries to maintain a fair keel, however Atticus is a creature of 1934 Alabama, and whereas he may take into account himself a liberal, Sorkin (and Sher) don’t permit him to stray removed from his roots, which creates an inside dilemma for the lawyer who can see the hypocrisy of his beliefs. Atticus is definitely not good, and Thomas offers him many layers.

Sher has demanded quick pacing, regardless of the Southern drawls, and rigidity crackles from the very starting. The casting is close to good, and all of the actors give very sturdy performances. There’s a particular sense of ensemble.

Miriam Buether’s set is a wierd one — a towering, dingy gray, three-walled room. Southern decay? Entrapment? Set items are both flown in, or moved about by the solid to create seamless scene adjustments. Ann Roth’s costumes are interval good.

If I’ve one little cavil, it’s that each Thomas and Moore have mannered drawls that turn into repetitive over time, however that’s one small criticism in an in any other case flawless manufacturing. This TKAM is assured to make you take a look at the e-book (or film) with completely different eyes. The injustice that’s on the coronary heart of the matter actually slaps you within the face.

Should you didn’t purchase tickets for the primary run, I heartily counsel you get them for the second coming. This To Kill a Mockingbird is simply too good to overlook.

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Paula Citron is a Toronto-based freelance arts journalist and broadcaster who hosts her personal web site, paulacitron.ca. For over 25 years, she was senior dance author for The Globe and Mail, affiliate editor of Opera Canada journal, arts reviewer for Classical 96.3 FM, and dance previews contributor to Toronto Life journal. She has been a visitor lecturer for numerous cultural teams and universities, notably on the position of the critic/reviewer, and has been a panellist on COC podcasts. Earlier than assuming a full-time journalism profession, Ms. Citron was a member of the drama division of the Claude Watson Faculty for the Arts.

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