I’ve always had a real love and appreciation for To Kill A Mockingbird. The book - classic. The Gregory Peck movie - absolute classic. That appreciation grew even more when I auditioned for (but didn’t get) a role in Theatre Cedar Rapids’ production in 1999, a production that was very well-done. And then, of course, I had the tremendous good fortune to play the role of Atticus when TCR mounted another Mockingbird production in 2014.
So imagine my anticipation a few years ago - in 2016! That long ago when word first came out? - when I first heard Aaron Sorkin was working on a new adaptation of Harper Lee’s work for the stage. Sorkin writes wonderful dialogue for actors to say, he’s a masterful storyteller, it sounded like a fantastic match. And then I heard about some of the things Sorkin was doing … the kids played by adults? The timeline jumbled all around? This was no longer going to be the theatrical Mockingbird I’d loved so much over the years. Was Sorkin going to mess it all up?
Then I saw it. First on the leg of the tour through Des Moines in 2022, then again last night at Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City.
Transcendent.
Brilliant.
Emotional. Heart-rending, in places.
Sorkin has added a lot of his trademark humor, but hasn’t lost the deep emotional and intellectual line driving through the story. Tom Robinson’s testimony on the stage just leaves us all wrecked. Atticus’ closing argument is as powerful as ever. And the changes Sorkin has made from the movie (and the previous stage versions) elevate this production into something extraordinary.
The adults playing the kids works, particularly as they’re telling the story to us. The broken-up timeline works, as it’s a memory play, after all, and we start with “Bob Ewell fell on his knife?” and then wind our way back to “Bob Ewell fell on his knife.” (Just go back to What Kind Of Day Has It Been or multiple other flashback episodes of Sorkin’s The West Wing … he really likes that structure, lol.) Link Deas, ignored in previous theatrical versions, rises out of the pages of the book and in just a couple of short scenes tells a deeply moving story of how racism seeps into every corner of life. Calpurnia plays a far more important role, not only acting as a sister to Atticus but also calling him out for his unacknowledged “white privilege” and his insistence that he “knows” his fellow townspeople have advanced enough so that race won’t drive their decisions. He is wrong, oh, so wrong. And she sets him straight on the “crawling around inside another man’s skin” idea, oh, yes she does.
Plus, Sorkin adds dimension and depth and rough edges to Atticus. He’s always been a figure of stature and unwavering moral character, we all remember Gregory Peck … but Sorkin’s figure isn’t quite a saint, isn’t quite perfect. He’s flustered when something goes wrong in the trial, and - more importantly - he shows he can explode into anger and even violence when he’s finally pushed too far. He’s not floating above the other citizens of Maycomb, he’s human.
Is it perfect? No, of course not. The ending gets a little drawn-out and talky. It’s a bit long. Sorkin has dropped one of my favorite lines (“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin’”), and Calpurnia and Tom are the only Black characters representing all the Blacks in the south.
But overall it’s an epic of modern American theatre. Even technically it’s a triumph, from the bare-bones set design to the nearly seamless transitions done by cast members themselves to the well-chosen music cues. While the “stand up” line is out, “Hey, Boo” is still there, bringing a catch to my throat … and new lines like “Trying to do the right thing can be the right thing” tells us a lot. Not to mention there’s a whole new meaning to “All. Rise” now.
I still remember standing up at intermission of the show in 2022, turning to my wife and saying, “That’s the best first act of anything I’ve ever seen.” I can only hope the rights for local productions are released before I get too old to audition for the Judge, or Link Deas (I mean, Richard Thomas is 72, and he’s absolutely terrific, why would Atticus be out of reach for me, ha).
I strongly encourage anyone who loves theatre, who loves To Kill A Mockingbird, who loves Sorkin’s dialogue, or who just loves important stories well-told … if you can, find a ticket and see this show.
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