All Rise
When I saw To Kill a Mockingbird on the list of shows at Proctor’s Theater for this season, I began to wonder how this story would play in today’s world. This novel has been highly acclaimed and highly scrutinized for decades. I was eager to see how the writers of this stage adaptation were presenting this text to current audiences and how current audiences would receive it. When I arrived at the theater early to receive our preshow directions for ushers, I was pleased to hear that show had sold well and the house was nearly full for all performances. Our supervisor also pointed out that the production company wanted to be sure that ushers knew that the content of this show was for mature audiences and that there were very troubling scenes about rape and violence. This was a clear signal to me that they were not sugar coating the pure horrors of racism and that the production company recognized the importance of trigger warnings, sending a message to patrons that they know this content is painful and disturbing, yet worth telling.
As the play opens, Scout comes on stage and begins the narration, soon joined by Jem and Dill and I am immediately remembering her voice from the novel, a story I chose to teach to high school students for many years as an English teacher. The narration moved back and forth between the courtroom scene and life at Atticus Finch’s house. The actors do a brilliant job of revealing the hatred for blacks expressed by Mr. Ewell as he unjustly accuses Tom Robinson of rape and denies that he sexually and violently abused his daughter. I found myself remembering the poignant scenes from the novel yet seeing them performed on stage in front of me witnessing the audience’s response, often stunning silence, made the power of the text even greater than I remembered.
This stage adaptation highlights a line repeated in most courtrooms across America, and challenges theater goers to ponder its underlying meaning. Early In the first act, Jem faces the audience and points out that during a trial, citizens are asked to rise when the bailiff says, “All Rise.” Her delivery of this line implores the audience throughout the play to consider what this means. I was moved by this line and the number of times it resonated throughout the play. When I left the theater the first night, I noticed that they were selling T -Shirts that had a Mockingbird perched on top of the line “All Rise” written across the front. My first thoughts were to applaud this outreach to all of us to rise, to do better, to be agents of change when we hear racist comments and see systemic racism in the workplace and in our communities. Late in the second act, Atticus turns to the audience while delivering his closing arguments for Tom Robinson’s trial and passionately demands that the jury and the audience reveal the lies, end the hatred, stop the violence, and the abuse of power, and let this man, Tom Robinson, husband, father, son, kind soul to Mayella Ewell, go home. These lines are met with a thunder of applause. The audience gets it. There is a moment in the theater, in our community, where patrons recognized the injustice and felt a sense of responsibility for it. I felt some humanity among these 1900 theater goers and wanted to stop right there and know that the Tom Robinsons in this country would be deemed innocent and our world would right its wrongs. Not the case, Tom’s conviction, and eventual murder reminded us of the ongoing evils that are still not righted today.
Much has been said about this novel recently given that Atticus is most often portrayed as a white savior, and I confess that when I taught the book years ago, I encouraged my students to see him this way. I am more scrutinous of a white savior mentality now and see the harm it causes so I was very interested to see how this adaptation would present Atticus. I was pleased to see that although he continued to be portrayed as highly regarded, honest and honorable, several of the characters called him out for his actions. Jem spoke frankly to his father yet is sometimes dismissed as fathers sometimes do to their adolescent sons. Calpurnia brought the message home when she eventually confronted him about his inability to see that he caused harm when he unwaveringly showed understanding and kindness toward those who have committed hateful acts.
Offering equally powerful performances and impactful messages were those playing Mr. Ewell and his daughter Mayella. Mr. Ewell is a disgusting representation of racism and hatred in America. Joey Collins does an incredible job portraying this vile character. He spewed horrifying justifications for oppressing black people, and we heard his daughter rant the same justifications during the trial, even though Atticus gave her an opportunity to do right, to be honest and to speak the truth about her father’s abuse and violence toward her. She couldn’t do it; she was trained to see the world through his lens and was afraid to rethink her stance. This too, speaks to the underlying issues of racism in America and the divisive nature of discourse on many other subjects as well. We learn from our parents and see the world through that lens, right or wrong, and it takes powerful reflection and purposeful action to unlearn that inherent bias.
I must also speak about the casting of a hearing-impaired actor. Anthony Natale was an excellent choice given that an important message of this text is to appreciate people for who they are and recognize their individual characteristics as strengths. Clearly Mr. Natale is a skilled actor and played his role perfectly. I enjoyed watching him sign throughout his delivery and those who voiced his lines did so beautifully and matched his performance perfectly. This casting decision was another artistic choice that left me truly thinking about the messages of anti-racism, equity, and inclusion. To say I was moved by this performance is an understatement. The actors gave outstanding performances, playing their roles perfectly, matching each other in talent and passion for this story.