Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Aaron Sorkin’s highly anticipated new stage adaptation of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is solid but not revelatory

• By drediman
• December 16, 2018
• No Comments

Jeff Daniels, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and the company of Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” at the Shubert Theatre. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

Last week, Aaron Sorkin’s highly anticipated – and controversial – world premiere stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s seminal American novel about race relations in this country, opened on the Great White Way. I say controversial because on its way to Broadway, Mr. Sorkin’s version, produced by Lincoln Center Theatre, had come at odds with the Harper Lee estate for taking too many liberties with the classic novel. Ultimately, consent was given (Mr. Sorkin made some modifications to appease the estate), the result being the production currently selling out at the Shubert Theatre.

So how is it? There’s no doubt that the production is tastefully acted and directed. Additionally, Mr. Sorkin’s adaptation, despite a nearly three-hour running time, is an efficient piece of theatrical storytelling. But the whole affair is solid rather revelatory. My main concern lies in its depiction of the central character of attorney Atticus Finch, whose staunch ambivalence in the novel, at least for me, is one of the primary aspects that makes Ms. Lee’s work is so compelling. Mr. Sorkin’s Atticus, however (no spoilers here), embarks on a journey that ends on a note of certainty and purpose, which in my opinion, detracts from the messy human dimensions underlying the novel. Additionally, I found the use of adult actors to play Atticus’s daughter Scout (among others) to be less than completely effective, given that the loss of her innocence is one of the main themes of To Kill a Mockingbird. The main attribute of Mr. Sorkin’s version is that it gives more fulsome voice to the African American characters, who in the novel aren’t fleshed out very well.

Director Bartlett Sher’s somber production is nicely but patiently paced, allowing the reordered story to unfold organically. As for the cast, they’re very good. As Atticus, film star Jeff Daniels gives a solid, transparent performance that nonetheless never got under my skin. As Scout, the forever-youthful Celia Keenan-Bolger is given a tough assignment having to convincingly play an impressionable pre-teen. This talented veteran courageously takes the challenge on and she mostly succeeds, which is a testament to her prowess as an actress. Overall, however, I still prefer the production I saw at the Stradford Festival in Ontario, Canada last summer (adapted by Christopher Sergel) , which unsettled me to the core, as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird should.

RECOMMENDED

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Broadway, Play
Shubert Theatre
2 hours, 50 minutes (with one intermission)
Through March 17