'Mockingbird' Sings at Barrington Stage

To Kill a Mockingbird

Adapted by Christopher Sergel, Based on the novel by Harper Lee

Directed by Julianne Boyd, Scenic Design by Marion Williams, Costume Design by Jacob Climer, Lighting Design by Scott Pinkney, Sound Design by Brad Berridge, Dialect Coach Stephen Gabis, Production Stage Manager Renee Lutz

CAST:  David Adkins, Rosalind Cramer, Venida Evans, John Juback, Ken LaRon, Bob Lohbauer, Christian Meola, Ross Kane Oparowski, Debra Jo Rupp, MaeEllen Scarpa, Bob Sorenson, Jerome Spratling, Lou Sumrall, Grace Sylvia, Peggy Pharr Wilson

Performances through October 26 at Barrington Stage Company

Box Office 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.org

Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield present a bold, straightforward production of the great American classic To Kill a Mockingbird for the Fall Mainstage Season. Adapted by Christopher Sergel from Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the play compresses the scope of the story, but sharpens the focus on its heart and message.

The design team paints an evocative picture with set (Marion Williams) and costumes (Jacob Climer), just shabby enough to illustrate the depression-era poverty, but sufficiently neat and clean to reflect the pride and dignity of most of these small town folk. The front stoops of the wooden row houses are laden with flowerpots that are replaced with benches and chairs when the stage is transformed into the local courthouse. The women wear lightweight cotton dresses, the children dress in overalls and t-shirts, and Attorney Atticus Finch looks professional in his three-piece beige linen suit and fedora. The clothing of the lowest class characters is dirty, rumpled, and ill-fitting.

After our eyes take in the view, we hear the syrupy lilt of the accents and feel the warmth of the southern summer as the actors fan themselves or dab at their moist necks with handkerchiefs. With outstanding performances across the board, the cast immediately engages us in the narrative of daily life in this hamlet, from the mundane to the profound. Miss Maudie (Debra Jo Rupp) introduces us to the neighbors and tells their back-stories, while establishing herself as a salt of the earth voice of reason. There's Miss Stephanie (Peggy Pharr Wilson) whose permanently pursed lips claim that this one or that one has a streak of some sort; bitter, old Mrs. Dubose (Rosalind Cramer) predicts worthless futures for the Finch children; the good Sheriff Heck Tate (Bob Sorenson) does his best to keep the town on an even keel; and Reverend Sykes (Ken LaRon) patiently leads his flock at the Negro church.

In the Finch household, there are the children Jem (Christian Meola) and Scout (Grace Sylvia), housekeeper Calpurnia (Venida Evans), and pater familia Atticus (David Adkins). This is both the center of the play's action and the location of the town's moral center. All of the events are filtered through the lens of young Scout; as she awakens to an appreciation of her father's values and an understanding of the culture of their community, Sylvia conveys her emerging maturity and enlightenment by softening Scout's hard edges and developing greater acceptance of others. Evans is totally convincing as the occasionally stern, but loving steady right hand to single parent Finch.

As much as Scout is the first person of this tale, her father directs the script for the life experiences of his children. Atticus Finch is an icon of American literature and Adkins portrays him with the humility and respect he deserves. There's a shadow of Sisyphus in his posture as he struggles to fight the good fight, but he stands tall and strong when called upon to protect his kids or the weaker citizens of his community. Adkins rarely raises his voice or exerts himself physically, but he commands attention by his words and his tone, especially when the lawyer addresses his closing statement to the audience cum jury at the end of the climactic trial. It is an earnest, emotional scene when every drop of sweat on his brow is authentic.

To Kill a Mockingbird is Scout's coming of age story, but the dramatic conflict is right vs. wrong and good vs. evil. Despite hard feelings and threats from townspeople, Atticus defends a black man accused of raping a white woman, a challenge he hoped never to face in life. But inherent in the huge challenge is an enormous opportunity to teach his children major life lessons about values and integrity, prejudice and fairness, and how to take the measure of a man. Credit goes to Director Boyd and the entire cast for fleshing out these characters who could easily be played as types. John Juback as Bob Ewell and MaeEllen Scarpa as his daughter Mayella, the alleged rape victim, both delve deep into the troubled personalities of these opportunistic barnacles. Jerome Spratling plays Tom Robinson as patient and respectful with the quiet strength necessary to survive in his world. Ross Kane Oparowski's Dill is a delight. As the little boy visiting from out-of-town, he brings a new dimension to the Finch family and relishes their positive reception. The interaction among Jem, Scout, and Dill has a realistic child-like purity whether they are at play or cooking up a scheme to entice Boo Radley out of his house. As they observe the serious developments of the Robinson trial, all three of these young actors capably telegraph their burgeoning respect for Atticus as the gravity of his undertaking dawns on them.

Harper Lee's novel was written nearly 50 years ago describing a culture of two decades earlier, but the themes of prejudice, intolerance, and injustice are as recognizable today. Many of the ingrained attitudes have galvanized and given rise to the divisiveness in the electorate in this campaign season. In fictional 1935 Maycomb, Alabama, a Negro man could be accused and convicted of raping a white woman, despite great evidence to the contrary. In the United States in 2008, a white male politician attempts to label his African-American opponent as a Muslim, or an elitist, or a terrorist in order to brand him as "different," but ultimately it is all a thinly veiled pejorative reference to his race. The historical significance of this play about a place and time in the United States cannot be disputed. Julianne Boyd and company give it the attention and dignity it deserves.

 

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