Given today's political correctness, it's rare for a theater company to produce the stage version of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird." So it was a pleasant surprise to discover a few months back that Detroit's Matrix Theatre planned to open its new season with Christopher Sergel's stage adaptation at the Boll Family YMCA.
Known for its mission to foster social justice and transform lives through the arts, "Mockingbird" and Matrix seemed like a perfect match, I thought. And on opening night, my intuition was proved correct.
The 1960 classic, set in the "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama, examines racial injustice and small-town life in the American South during the Great Depression. Attorney Atticus Finch (Daniel A. Jaroslaw) has been asked to defend Tom Robinson (Renell Michael White), a black man accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell (Shannon Ferrante). The alleged crime and the subsequent trial cause tensions to rise in the community, but the predictable verdict – remember, this IS the Deep South in the 1930s – will have serious ramifications for many in the town.
Since its publication, the use of profanity, the discussion of rape and, more importantly, the frequent utterances of the infamous and dreaded "n-word" have long outraged moral crusaders – which likely kept controversy-shy theaters from staging this fine, important work.
Yet none of that hinders a very fine production by director Eric W. Maher, which features one of the largest casts we'll likely see on any non-profit stage this season.
The sparse, uncredited set (likely by Maher) allows the director to make full, creative use of the performance area and its multiple levels. And lighting by Randy Mauck compliments it quite nicely.
But the stars of the show are its uniformly top-notch actors.
In Sergel's adaptation, it's not Scout who narrates the tale, but neighbor Maudie Atkinson – a wise modification, since the production will work best when real, age-appropriate children are used in the roles of Scout, Jem and Dill. And Leah Smith is perfect as Maudie.
So too are Linda Rabin Hammell as Mrs. Dubose, the elderly neighbor who still clings to the Old South's values; Alan Madlane, who couldn't be slimier as Bob Ewell, the low-class father of the alleged rape victim; Joel Mitchell, who seems culled from Central Casting for the role of Sheriff Heck Tate; Ferrante, who shades Mayella Ewell with all the appropriate emotions called for in the script; and Stephen Blackwell as smug prosecuting attorney Mr. Gilmer.
And Jaroslaw's Atticus gives the legal profession a much-needed infusion of integrity.
The three children, however, are both a charming asset to the production and an occasional problem.
All three on opening night – Rebecca Helman Scherrer (Scout), Jared Helman Scherrer (Jem) and Ethan Helman Scherrer (Dill) are generally age-appropriate for their roles, very talented and cute as all get out. Plus, they've mastered their lines and blocking impressively well. But their line interpretations don't always deliver the emotional impact that's required of the story.
One other minor problem exists: Based on both the dialogue and the book, Jem should be about four years older than Scout, but here, he appears to be a few years younger. (Most in the audience probably wouldn't notice this or care, except for one line that points it out.)
And on opening night, unintended laughs were generated late in the show when Scout registers surprise when she searches for and points out Jem's savior – who's been standing right next to her for quite some time.
REVIEW:
'To Kill a Mockingbird'
Matrix Theatre Company at the Marlene Boll Theatre at the Boll Family YMCA, 1401 Broadway, Detroit. Friday-Sunday through Nov. 16. Tickets: $15. For information: 313-967-0559 or http://www.matrixtheatre.org.
