In the huge cast there is not a performance that doesn’t excel. Strong performances also shine from Jacqueline Williams as the doubting Calpurnia and Richard Poe as Judge Taylor who tries to conduct a civilized trial. It is too bad that these children’s parts are played by adult actors. Sorkin’s sharp script has dazzlingly conceived the vibrant and terrifying look at uninhibited intolerance.Īlong with Thomas’ masterful performance, Finch’s children are also executed perfectly by Melanie Moore as Scout and Justin Mark as Jem plus Steven Lee Johnson as the pair’s friend Dill. The play is a penetrating look at rural Southern societal racism. Most neighbors around Finch further reveal the town’s notorious biases and unfairness. The trial prompts Finch’s children, Scout and Jem, to question the unfair and the unjust views as they eloquently learn about discrimination and hypocrisy with the added input of a neighbor’s child visitor, Dill Harris. It is a memorable performance something rarely seen in a touring Broadway production.įinch believes Robinson’s innocence but fairness has no place in this bigoted community where justice is slanted against Robinson and his race no matter how eloquently or convincingly Finch defends the man’s innocence. Thomas shifts easily to the insightful sensitivity he uses to raise his two children and his understanding of Calpurnia, the family’s Black maid who helps Finch guide his children to respect racial diversity. Thomas shows his distrust of the town’s justice as he displays his hate of his client’s treatment. He delivers a great Atticus that rivals Gregory Peck’s movie performance. The touring production of this insightful look at racial injustice stars Richard Thomas, known for his Emmy Award-winning performance in “The Waltons.” Thomas has grown triumphantly as a consummate actor. It was a vehicle for Jeff Daniels who triumphed as Atticus Finch, the small-town Maycomb, Alabama lawyer chosen in 1934 to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man wrongly accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a White woman. In 2019 Aaron Sorkin’s interpretation took Broadway by storm. Since 1990, a mediocre and unauthorized adaptation by Christopher Sergel has played schools and community theaters. The 1962 now classic movie version was vibrant but a stage version has remained elusive. Although the performance I saw was sold out, tickets for the rest of the run are available at .ĭramatizing Harper Lee’s sprawling and moving 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is no easy task. To Kill A Mockingbird runs at Fair Park Music Hall through May 28. The play is gripping from beginning to end. And in Dallas, remember the furor over removing a statue from a Dallas park just a few years ago? To Kill A Mockingbird takes place 90 years ago and yet it’s still so current. History repeats itself and should be taught not banned.Īnd in another scene, the kids argue that the Civil War was over 70 years ago but Atticus reminds us that every time some southerners see a free Black person, it reminds them of the defeat. And then a scene outside the jail has members of the Klan threatening to do to Tom exactly what happened in Texas to James Byrd in the 1990s. Mayella’s false statements on the witness stand are reminiscent of the 1950s accuser of Emmitt Till. Writer Aaron Sorkin ( The West Wing) does a great job of mixing bite-sized courtroom scenes with slices of life that develop the characters of the town making this play complex and fascinating.īut what struck me is how this story is exactly what racist book-banners want erased from our history but instead should be taught over and over. But you’ll walk out of the theater remembering the word exculpatory the way you walk out of a great musical humming the music because of the way Scout explains it. Atticus, an attorney, is defending Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman.ĭespite presenting exculpatory evidence that Tom couldn’t have done it, well, no spoilers if you don’t know the story. The play takes place in 1934 in Maycomb, Alabama. I’d also like to rave about Daniel Neale who substituted as Dill Harris, giving the role just the right amount of gay for the 1930s but never overdoing it. Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch is at the height of his career and Melanie Moore as Scout grabs the audience from her first line. To call this the best non-musical play to come to Dallas in years doesn’t do the show justice. And this show should top any banned show list. Of course the original To Kill A Mockingbird is on many a banned book list.
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