Posted: Wednesday, December 10, 2003
G.B. Theatre kicks off the new year with a classic
Fight off the chill of the northeastern Ohio winter this January by with a trip to Alabama in the classic play �To Kill A Mockingbird,� presented on the GB stage January 16-18, 23-25, 28, 30-February 1.
Based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Harper Lee, �Mockingbird� tells the story of Scout, a young girl growing up in a quiet southern town in 1935. Raised by their widower father (Atticus) and a strong minded housekeeper (Calpurnia), Scout and her brother Jem are on the brink of dramatic events in their childhoods which will influence them for the rest of their lives.
Wide-eyed Scout is fascinated by the people of her small town, and is becoming aware of a quiet rumble of thunder beginning to brew just under the surface of the usually serene town.
The black people of the community have a special feeling about Atticus, and Scout doesn�t understand why. Meanwhile, a few of her white friends are inexplicably hostile toward her family, and she doesn�t understand those feelings, either. Confused, the young girl turns to her father for an explanation. Atticus, a lawyer, explains that he is defending a young Negro man wrongfully accused of raping a white girl.
Both Scout and her father know that this fight will be a long battle that will certainly cause much tension is their already racially divided town. Atticus prepares Scout for the upcoming troubles by telling her, �We�re fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they�re still our friends.�
And things do get bitter - to the point that Atticus props himself in a chair against the cell door of the man he�s defending and confronts an angry mob of townspeople. As the trial rages on and the truth becomes clear, Scout gains not only a new outlook toward her father, but also toward portions of her childhood in general.
The stage version of �To Kill A Mockingbird� was written by Christopher Sergel in 1970, a decade after Lee penned her novel.
Although the original book was written over 40 years ago, many of the themes presented are still relevant on many levels. As reviewer Bette Spero of the Newark Star Ledger wrote in 1991, �The story is simple but speaks eloquently of human nature. Whether it is revealed in a small southern town three generations ago or in a sedate New Jersey suburb today, such knowledge remains timely.�
G.B Theatre�s version of the play is directed by Douglas E. Anderson, and features Brint Learned as Atticus, Christie Ellis as Scout, Danny Moore as Jem, and Daisy Baskerville as Calpurnia. Other characters include Michael Ellis as Scout and Jem�s young friend, Dill; David Cole as Boo Radley, the recluse neighbor; Pat Flash as Judge Taylor; Tom Udell as Bob Ewell, the backward father of the victim; Chad Helms as Sheriff Heck Tate; and Martha Sorohan as Jean, the adult Scout who narrates the story.
�To Kill A Mockingbird� opens January 16, and runs for three weekends, January 16-18, 23-25 and 30-February 1. Curtain is 8 p.m. for the Friday and Saturday shows, and 3 p.m. for the Sunday shows. A special Wednesday evening performance will also be held on January 28.
Tickets are currently available for all shows.
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