Last night, we went to go see “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East Playhouse in Santa Clarita. I actually hadn’t encountered the story before (I had never read the book or seen the movie, surprisingly), and was very moved by the story. This morning, as I was trying to figure out how to write this up, the unifying theme hit me: Justice. While watching “To Kill a Mockingbird“, I kept thinking about another “trial” production we’ve seen: Parade, by Jason Robert Brown. That also tells the story of justice denied, even though the real facts were clear. It also ties to the production we are seeing this evening, Scottsboro Boys, which again tells the story of a minority in the south that saw justice denied.
Monday is Memorial Day, when we thank those who defend this country and its values. We often view this in a military fashion, but one of the key defenders of this country is the legal system. The legal system’s drawback is that it deals with people — and people lie and are affected by their prejudices. In all three cases I mentioned, lying and prejudice play big factors: people lying about what the accused has done for their own personal reasons (usually as a result of prejudice), and people letting prejudice against others color their view of the evidence.
Perhaps you’re not familiar with the story of To Kill a Mockingbird. Basically, it is the story of Atticus Finch and his family in Macon Alabama in the 1930s. Finch, a white lawyer, has been assigned to defend Tom Robinson, who has been accused of beating and raping a young white woman in the community. This angers many in the community. The play deals with both the community’s reaction to the case, as well as the specific trial. This is seen primarily through they eyes of Atticus’ children, Scout and Jem, and the expository narrations of Miss Maudie. You can find the plot summary here. I heard that the ages of the children were different than in the story, although the ages do agree with the Wikipedia summary.
The direction of the play, by Mark Kaplan/FB and Mikee Schwinn/FB, was simple and effective. It made great use of the limitations of the REP East stage (a black box) — I’m always amazed at how REP is so creative in its storytelling. The directors helped the actors make these characters into people. You felt that the children were children; the neighbors were neighborly; and … well, it was just right and seamless.
Of course, the fact that there were great performances didn’t hurt. In the lead position was Daniel Lench* (FB) as Atticus Finch. Daniel is a REP regular, and he is wonderous in anything he is in. I particular remember his performances as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus and as Lt. Col Jessep in A Few Good Men. This was another one of Daniel’s signature leads — I can’t say enough about how well he captured Atticus Finch. I truly wish the Ovation folks would deign to go a little further north than they are used to see this moving performance.
In the second lead position was a new find: Lori Hernandez as Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. New to REP, she was just riveting and childlike. You didn’t see this girl acting; you saw her as Atticus’ daughter in the deep south. Basically, her performance made the piece authentic and relate-able, and make this much more than a simple courtroom drama.
There were a number of other great performances worth mentioning from the supporting cast. Georgan George (FB) was Miss Maudie, and she did a wonderful job of providing the necessary exposition and commentary. As Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Liam Johnson was a wonderful older brother to Scout and helped establish the children as real. Brent Christiansen (FB), as Bob Ewell, was wonderful as the villain of the piece, with a convincing performance as a mad drunken bigot. Also notable was Macleish Day* (FB) in the multiple roles of Nathan Radley, Boo Radley, and Mr. Gilmer. Day, who we recently saw in Boeing, Boeing, was not only effective as the prosecution lawyer, but in the end as the simple Boo Radley. Quite a transformation. Lastly, I enjoyed Frank Rock (FB)’s portrayal of the Sheriff, Heck Tate.
Rounding out this large cast (especially for the REP) was Barry Agin (FB) (Walter Cunningham I / Link Deas), Eileen Mary Butler* (FB) (Mrs. Dubois / Miss Eula May), Shane Cambria (FB) (Charles “Dill” Baker Harris / Walter Cunningham II), Malinda Farrington* (FB) (Miss Stephanie), R J Farrington* (FB) (Calpurnia), Alli Kelly (FB) (Mayella Ewell), Austen Parros (FB) (Reverend Sykes), Chris Reese* (FB) (Tom Robinson), and P J Waggaman (FB) (Judge John Taylor).
The scenic design for the production was by Mikee Schwinn/FB, with lighting by the resident lighting designer Tim Christianson/FB and sound by the the resident sound designer, Steven “Nanook” Burkholder/FB. The lighting was particularly effective for this production. Costumes were designed by Tonya Nelson of NSA Costumes. The production stage manager was Marie-Claire Erdynast/FB, and the resident stage manager is Christina Aguilar/FB. Mikee Schwinn/FB is the artistic director (congrats on the promotion to full artistic director, Mikee), and Ovington Michael Owston/FB “O” is the executive director of REP East (congrats on your new title, “O”).
“To Kill A Mockingbird” continues at REP East through June 16. Go see it. Tickets are available through the REP Online Box office; they are often available through Goldstar, and last minute specials are available through the REP’s Facebook page.
Upcoming Theatre and Concerts: Today brings The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages. June will also bring a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes. I’m also considering Rent at the Hudson Theatres or A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).
Music: Portraits – The Best of Amanda McBroom (Amanda McBroom): “Amanda”
I saw the play a few days ago, and can agree with your overview (Johnson is so tall he towers over his ‘father’)…except for young Ms. Hernandez’ performance. Her southern accent was so thick as to make most of her dialog unintelligible. I’m sure she was directed to speak in that way, but it matched the accent of no one else in the cast. Don’t you think she and her father would speak in the same fashion?
It’s a long performance – when Act II came around, I remember thinking to myself that they have a lot to do before the curtain – but they managed to cram the rest of the story in, and I do mean ‘cram’. It was nearly eleven before we got out.