To Kill A Mockingbird

‘Mockingbird’ has its say in Carmel

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By John Lyle Belden

Nineteen-thirty-five was 90 years ago, approaching a century, and aspects of our culture then still linger with us today. That’s why “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the novel by Harper Lee (inspired by her childhood), is still important.

Its stage play, dramatized by Christopher Sergel, is on the stage of The Cat in Carmel, produced by Carmel Community Players, directed by Andrea Odle. It’s notable that we don’t have to help promote this as opening night was sold out and ticket sales are brisk for the rest of the run, through Sunday, Sept. 21, including both a matinee and evening performance on the 20th. We know why this story is important; read on for a refresher and to meet those bringing it to life.

Jean Louise Finch (Ashley Sherman) is our narrator and guide to the events of that fateful year in Maycomb, Alabama, memorable for her as a little girl known as “Scout” (Rylee Odle), her slightly older brother Jeremy “Jem” Finch (Drake Smith) and their friend Dill (Jackson Odle-Stollings).  

Scout and Jem’s father is Atticus Finch (Kent Phillips), a middle-aged lawyer who doesn’t appear to do much more than occupy an office all day – embarrassingly sedate to his active children. But they come to learn the man is so much more, with growing respect and pride, when Judge Taylor (David Dessauer) assigns Atticus the defense of Tom Robinson (Jurrell Spencer), a Black man accused of attacking and raping Mayella (Samantha Lewis), a white teen and daughter of unsavory character Bob Ewell (Mark Jackson), who made the accusation.

Sheriff Heck Tate (Mike Sosnowski) is a good friend of Atticus and maintains a neutral if not covertly empathetic attitude towards the accused. We see the same from kindly neighbor Miss Maude Atkinson (Mary Garner). Others are quick to condemn – the N-word is said quite a bit, though sadly appropriate to the setting. This includes town busybody Miss Stephanie Crawford (Jeanne Lewis); poor farmer Mr. Cunningham (Dwayne Lewis) – the irony of him being a past client of Atticus will come into play; and especially the bitter old neighbor Mrs. Dubose (Jean Adams), which will lead to an important life lesson for Jem.

Jada Moon is stern but compassionate Calpurnia, the Finch cook and maternal figure to the children. Austin Uebelhor is Nathan Radley of the house next door, with the big tree with the knot-hole; he cares for his mysterious brother, “Boo,” who never comes out. Sidney Blake is the Rev. Sykes of the local Black church, minister to Tom Robinson and his wife, Helen (Trinity Pruitt). Jim Jamriska plays Mr. Gilmer, the county Prosecutor, smugly confident in his case. Thomas Amick’s roles include Tom’s boss and the Clerk of the court.

Scout, through whose eyes and memories we see this, is one who matures in her sense of fairness from scrappy to a more gentle understanding, which we see in the performances of Sherman and Rylee Odle. At moments they are even in unison, reflecting the child/woman dichotomy of the character in the book. Rylee’s Scout shows flashes of intuition and a (at one point literally) disarming sense of kindness, while Sherman shows how she hasn’t fundamentally changed not only in her continuing quest to understand 1935, but also her still wearing overalls instead of a dress in 1960 (excellent costuming throughout by Karen Cones).

Children being played by young adults doesn’t prove distracting as all three commit to naively childish personae, including Smith’s impulsive Jem and Odle-Stolling’s eccentric imaginative Dill. (The latter character is based on Lee’s childhood friend, Truman Capote.) Andrea Odle said that casting them, including her daughter Rylee, made it easier to have the characters repeat racially offensive terms, as well as better understand the play’s context.

Phillips brings a nuanced and complex approach to Atticus, his every word and action well considered, his courtroom manner dense with gravitas. Sosnowski brings a complimentary sense of companionship as Tate, while ever aware of his role in events as a guardian of safety and order. Spencer makes the most of his time at trial to make Tom’s case to the jury and to us.

Even the more broadly-drawn characters are solid. Moon incorporates mothering into Calpurnia’s role, avoiding caricature so that even in Jean Louise’s remarks on her disciplining the children, she is remembered fondly. Blake as the Reverend is an appropriate pillar of strength. Jamriska’s Gilmer is slick, grinning as he works a system that practically guaranteed him a win. Jackson’s violently dangerous Bob Ewell is scarily effective, while Samantha Lewis achingly plays a girl trapped by multiple factors including abuse, social stigma, isolation, and the limits of an uneducated mind. Adams, fierce and unrelenting, gives us little to like so we only have Atticus to trust in reasons for his compassion. Uebelhor shows mastery over his brief appearances, especially at the play’s climax.

Odle-Stollings is assistant director, and Amy Buel is stage manager. Simple yet effective sets were designed and built by the Odle family.

Performances are at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way in the heart of downtown Carmel. In the time you’ve read this review, more tickets were sold. See if any are left at carmelplayers.org.

An American classic comes to life on Civic stage

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By John Lyle Belden

“To Kill A Mockingbird,” the celebrated novel by Harper Lee, is likely a book you are familiar with, perhaps from reading it in school, or by seeing the Gregory Peck film which closely followed Lee’s story.

The Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre presents a live production of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” the play adapted by Christopher Sergel, which is performed annually in Monroeville, Alabama, Lee’s hometown on which the novel’s setting is based. Unlike that production, the local staging doesn’t pick a trial jury from the audience – but attorney Atticus Finch still speaks directly to us.

For the unfamiliar, the story, set in Mayscomb, Ala., in the mid-1930s, is told by Finch’s young daughter, Jean Louise, known as Scout. The play gives us a grown-up Jean Louise (Michelle Wafford), who emerges from the audience to narrate for her younger self (Bridget Bingham), who is trying to make sense of all the things happening around her.

Scout, her brother Jem (Dalyn Stewart) and friend Dill (Ben Boyce) are occupied with what the reclusive neighbor Boo Radley might look like. The only clues are items left in a tree in his yard. But a bigger distraction comes when Atticus (Steve Kruze) is appointed by Judge Taylor (Tom Smith) to defend a black man, Tom Robinson (Antoine Demmings), who has been accused of beating and “having his way” with teenager Myella Ewell (Morgan Morton) by her father, town drunk Bob Ewell (Joe Steiner). The children endure taunts for their father defending a black man, but Atticus counsels them to endure and be confident he is doing the right thing. Scout wonders if she can feel pride in her father at all, until an incident with a mad dog reveals there’s more to the man than she ever suspected. Likewise, Jem wonders why his punishment for his vandalism of bitter, hateful neighbor Mrs. Dubose’s (Holly Stults) garden is to deliver kindness, until he comes to understand the whole situation.

The Robinson trial is a big spectacle, so the children sneak in to see it for themselves (thus allowing us to witness it), finding only room to sit in the “Colored” section with the Rev. Sykes (Brad Thompson). They marvel at how Atticus takes advantage of flaws in the testimony, and the kids are sure this will come out in their (and Robinson’s) favor. What does happen gives life lessons the children will never forget. And the events that follow will result in men killed, Jem injured, and Scout becoming a whole lot wiser.

Other notable characters include Sheriff Heck Tate (Clay Mabbit); the Finches’ cook, Calpurnia (Chandra Lynch); and an appearance by Boo Radley (Colby Rison) himself.

Under the direction of Emily Rogge Tzucker, this important story rises from the page to remind us of how horrible, yet accepted, hatred and injustice can be – then, and even more than 80 years later. Of course, that includes the bigoted context of the South in the 20th century, in which no person would even think of saying “African American” and “black” was mostly just a color you painted. So, be warned, the word “nigger” is used numerous times, by characters with either malice or apathy towards its dehumanizing effects. And if my writing the word out in the previous sentence bothers you too much, you should steel yourself before seeing this play – and go anyway.

Scout’s purpose in this story is to learn to see the world through others’ eyes – a man who would rather do what’s right than what’s popular, a person in unspeakable pain, a person judged purely by his skin tone, even a person who just can’t deal with other people – and thus teach us to do the same. Experience it for yourself at the Tarkington theater at the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel, through Feb. 23. Information and tickets at civictheatre.org or thecenterpresents.org, or call 317-843-3800.