‘TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD’: Jeff Daniels. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
By Aaron Sorkin
Based on Harper Lee’s novel
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Shubert Theatre
225 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), https://tokillamockingbirdbroadway.com/

By David NouNou

Everyone who has read the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird or seen the 1962 movie version with Gregory Peck in his Oscar-winning role as Atticus Finch is going to have an opinion of this stage adaptation; and anyone who has done neither is not going to know the difference.

To Kill a Mockingbird as a play carries a heavy burden. Since the book’s release, Harper Lee’s story has come to symbolize the “Great American” novel. It has been a “must read” in almost every school’s curriculum since its inception. Aaron Sorkin, a famous and popular dramatist, TV and screenwriter, writes scripts that focus on today’s issues, whether it is the presidency (“The West Wing” or “The American President”), the media (“The Newsroom”) or American lust for power and money (Steve Jobs or Molly’s Game). Mr. Sorkin always writes about issues with a contemporary standpoint that translate to the masses. This time he has taken it upon himself to transform this masterpiece into a meandering and rambling theatrical epic.

Mr. Sorkin has kept the principal players and setting intact; it is still 1936, Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus is here but with a much saintlier glow. The three children: Tomboyish Jean Louise “Scout” Finch (Celia Keenan-Bolger), who in the book is anywhere from six to eight; her older brother, Jeremy “Jem” Finch (Will Pullen), and Dill Harris (Gideon Glick), a diminutive child who sees the world from an innocent standpoint as an outsider. He is staying with his aunt Rachel, their next-door neighbor, this particular summer. The children in the book are now played by adults and that is perfectly fine, because the parts are so complex and children that young would not comprehend the gravity of the situation on a nightly basis.

Also the crux of the story here is Tom Robinson (Gbenga Akinnagbe), a black man being accused by Bob Ewell (Frederick Weller), a white man claiming Tom raped his daughter, Mayella. Another major character is Calpurnia, the devoted Finch housekeeper who for decades was retained by Atticus’ wife’s family, and has now taken care of Jem and Scott since their mother died when the kids were young.

The play remains a Southern Gothic classic and a tale of children coming of age. It is still in the South where the Ku Klux Klan is rampant and lawlessness runs amok, especially in the black section of town and nothing can prove the innocence of a black man, in an all-white jury, even when all the evidence is there. What has changed, however, is the dialogue and Atticus Finch.

Atticus’ saintliness borders on the psychotic; he always has to prove that everyone has a good side and try to understand what leads a person to where they are today, especially in the case of Bob Ewell, a drunkard, bully and bigot. This comes in the wake of his children not coming to terms with their father’s stubbornness and trying to be a savior. This also comes in direct conflict with Calpurnia, the family caregiver, who feels betrayed by Atticus.

The dialogue is another issue. In a scene where Atticus confronts Calpurnia “why are you mad at me, what did I do wrong?” she uses the terms “passive-aggressive” and “transparent.” I really don’t think those terms were used in the rural South in 1936.

Bartlett Sher, the director, hasn’t so much directed the play and given it any focus as put the characters and scenes handed to him into motion. A lot could have been edited from certain scenes, some scenes eliminated completely, and some scenes kept intact as the novel intended.

Being that Jeff Daniels has worked with Aaron Sorkin in the TV series “The Newsroom,” he was likely Mr. Sorkin’s first choice to play Atticus Finch. Mr. Daniels is stalwart and saintly. Will Pullen as Jem is serviceable, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Scout is a perfect choice; she imbues the characteristics of a tomboyish girl full of curiosity and is effective in most of her scenes. The real treasure here is Gideon Glick as Dill. A couple of years ago he did a great turn in Significant Other. As the guileless Dill, Mr. Glick heartbreakingly conveys every nuance of an abandoned child who lives in his own rose-colored world that ultimately shatters in the face of death and bigotry.

Additionally, Gbenga Akinnagbe, as the convicted Tom Robinson, delivers a powerful performance that envelops the stage and of course there is LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Calpurnia; she is an anchor and mother courage.

Of course my take is not the definitive view; for years to come there will be the controversy of whether this novel needed to be made into a play or is it a worthy piece that lives up to the novel? Unlike most plays or musicals where reviews help or hinder a show, this play will definitely have its defenders and detractors regardless of what critics say. You the audience/viewer will ultimately be the definitive critics.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 13, 2018
Reviewed at preview performance.

‘TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD’: LaTanya Richardson Jackson & Jeff Daniels. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD’: Jeff Daniels & Obenga Akinnagbe. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

The post ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’: Does it translate to the stage? appeared first on StageZine.

‘BLACKBIRD’: Jeff Bridges & Michelle Williams. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

BLACKBIRD
Written by David Harrower
Directed by Joe Mantello
Through June 11, 2016
Belasco Theatre
111 West 44th Street.
(212-239-6200), www.blackbirdbroadway.com

By David NouNou

Complex and intense, riveting but perplexing, damaged and flawed are all descriptions of the characters and the play Blackbird. By the nature of its unsavory subject matter, it is one of those plays that make you squirm in your seat, but you can’t take your eyes off the stage. Its strongest suit is that it constantly alters the viewer’s allegiance from one character to the other.

Ray (Jeff Daniels) seduced Una (Michelle Williams) 15 years ago. Ray was 40, Una was 12. On the surface it is a very clear open-and-shut case. Today, Una has finally located Ray, who has moved to a different city and changed his name. She has come to his place of work to confront him about that incident. From the onset, when both characters enter together as though joined at the hip into a messy private eating area, you sense that fireworks will go off. They have both paid a horrific price for their act and the extent of their damage is very obvious. As the play delves deeper into the incident, it becomes an entangled web of who seduced who, who was left alone to fend for themselves, and who had to pay the higher cost of humiliation and punishment

Up to this point the play is riveting and intoxicating. However, playwright David Harrower alters this perfectly balanced play to reach the nether regions and suddenly this emotional wallop disperses into the nebulous zone and there is no assistance from director Joe Mantello.

In order to keep this play on track, you need two superb performances, and what performances? Michelle Williams who made an inauspicious Broadway debut in 2014 in Cabaret is simply mesmerizing. Every movement, facial expression, tick, and the torment behind them is conveyed magnificently. She is so immersed into the role that at times it is excruciating to watch.

Jeff Daniels is equally brilliant; he picks up his cues from Ms. Williams and has to go toe to toe with her in order to give the play balance. Upon hearing Ms. Williams recall her lost youth and upon remembering his own ordeal of punishments, Mr. Daniels ages before our very eyes. The two are giving the performances of their careers.

Consequences of events that happened a long time ago stay with us and the damage and flaws it creates can be lifelong. Hopefully at some point, one can confront it and try to resolve it. Blackbird is only 85 minutes long and performed without an intermission. Short as it is, it’s not an easy sit through, but the rewards are great. To see Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams at the top of their game makes the evening that much more bearable and enriching.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 13, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on March 11, 2016

‘BLACKBIRD’: Jeff Daniels. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘BLACKBIRD’: Michelle Williams. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

The post ‘Blackbird’: Dynamic duo in dark tale appeared first on StageZine.