Christopher Sergel

What did our critic think of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at Desert Theatreworks?

A federal court has ruled that Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD can be staged nationwide. Learn more about the court's decision and the impact it will have on the theater community.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin and opened on Broadway at the Schubert Theatre in December of 2018. The play is set in 1930s Alabama and follows the story of Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer in his defense trial of Tom Robinson, an African American man wrongfully accused of rape. However, Sorkin’s adaptation differs from the book by Lee, in which we see Atticus as the protagonist here, unlike the portrayal of Scout in Lee’s novel. Witnessing Atticus as the protagonist of the story we go on an emotional journey, and are able to see the change in Atticus as the show progresses. As Sorkin developed his adaptation, the production was faced with its own legal disputes. One being with the Lee estate in regards to its faithfulness to the original narrative, and the other to exclusivity rights regarding the use of the script by Christopher Sergel.

In 2019 the producers of the Broadway adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird sought to prevent small theaters around the country from staging an earlier dramatization of the novel. Now, the publisher of the earlier adaptation of the novel is seeking the stop the Broadway version of To Kill a Mockingbird from being staged at a variety of venues.

What did our critic think of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at The Orpheum Theatre Memphis?

But beloved as it may be, why in the ever-loving hell has it taken so long for To Kill A Mockingbird to become a theatrical play that is actually worthy of its literary heritage? Sure, there’s been a 1990 (?!) version by Christopher Sergel that’s made it way through every high school auditorium, community theater playhouse and reginal theater over the intervening three decades that we are, quite frankly, sick to death of it. In fact, if we never see it again, we’ve seen it far too often: a warmed over, treacly and maudlin rehash that’s far too dependent on the title’s movie roots to really emerge from a darkened theater to become a consummate American play.

Amid a banquet of juicy roles doled out by Aaron Sorkin in his adaptation of Harper Lee's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Richard Thomas feasts the fullest, delivering the most powerful, staggering work I’ve seen from him in my 59+ years of watching his most memorable performances live on Broadway, live in Charlotte, and on TV.

The mockingbird is noted for its ability to duplicate the sounds they hear. The bird's reference in the title of Harper Lee's epic novel, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD supposedly refers to the statements of prejudice that are repeated over and over in the book's famous trial. Statements about Blacks, Jews, the more and less educated, the economic class of a person. The only way to stop the sounds is to destroy the source.

A coming-of-age classic centered on two rival teenage gangs is the next theatrical drama at The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC).

As BroadwayWorld first reported in 2019, a legal battle between the Harper Lee Estate and Dramatic Publishing has been ongoing since the arrival of Aaron Sorkin's Broadway adaptation of the play.

The Sauk, Hillsdale County's community theatre, will open the 2022 season with the stage version of “Cheaper By The Dozen,” the true-life story of a family with twelve children. Performances are scheduled February 3-6 and February 10-13.

The Sauk, Hillsdale County's community theatre, will open the 2022 season with the stage version of 'Cheaper By The Dozen,' the true-life story of a family with twelve children. Performances are scheduled February 3-6 and February 10-13, 2022.

Harper Lee's masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird is being brought to life on the Stirling Theatre stage. 

Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre announces THE OUTSIDERS by Christopher Sergel, based on the novel by S.E. Hinton, streaming February 19 – 28, 2021 at www.lagunaplayhouse.com.  

Florida Repertory Theatre's Education Department has announced in-person classes for September and October featuring limited class sizes and enhanced safety measures. In addition to the safety measures, the classes will be held outdoors in order to keep both the instructors and students safe and healthy.

Scott P. Calhoon's dreamlike staging of the S. E. Hinton classic finds moments of beauty and adrenaline in the sometimes clumsy prose of a young adult classic.

After spending a year on an extended visit to his original hometown of Chicago, Illinois, veteran and award-winning stage actor and play director Darryl Maximilian Robinson, The Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of the multiracial, non-Equity professional chamber theatre, The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and Los Angeles-based theatre artist, has returned to The City of Angels, and will discuss both his most recent on-and-off stage endeavors in Chicago and Los Angeles on the Monday December 30, 2019 edition of the internet performing arts program 'The Actor's Choice' hosted by long-time entertainment journalist Ron Brewington in a program that can be viewed live on Youtube at 11:00 am PST.

After spending a year on an extended visit to his original hometown of Chicago, Illinois, veteran and award-winning stage actor and play director Darryl Maximilian Robinson, The Founder, Artistic Director and Producer of the multiracial, non-Equity professional chamber theatre, The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago and Los Angeles-based theatre artist, has returned to The City of Angels, and will discuss both his most recent on-and-off stage endeavors on the Monday December 30, 2019 edition of the internet performing arts program 'The Actor's Choice' hosted by long-time entertainment journalist Ron Brewington in a program that can be viewed live on Youtube at 11:00 am PST.

Hershey Area Playhouse will present the holiday production The Homecoming. Directed by Marcie Warner, The Homecoming is a heartwarming family story based on Earl Hamner Jr.'s novel and adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel. The story takes place one Christmas Eve in 1933 as the Spencer family, known on television as a?oeThe Waltons,a?? awaits the return of their father, who has had to find work many miles from home. With anxious anticipation, his eight children and their mother prepare for Christmas with the uncertainty of his return in the midst of a winter snow storm. The eldest son, who also narrates the tale, is sent out to find his father, encountering many of the town's characters, as well as some revelations about them, himself, and the man for whom he is searching. It is a perfect a?oeget you in the mood for the holidaysa?? experience that will be sure to please Playhouse audiences.

Possum Point Players have set a deadline of Friday, May 31, for applications to direct any of the five mainstage shows of the 2020 season. There are two application forms for potential directors, one for those who have directed shows at PPP before, and one for those seeking to be a first-time director with the players. Application forms may be downloaded from the PPP website, www.possumpointplayers.org., or obtained from Donna de Kuyper, Director Selection and Director Liaison Chair for Possum Point Players. Executive Administrator Dawn Conaway can also respond to requests for director applications by email, office@possumpointplayers.org, or by phone call to 302-856-3460.