Good news Broadway fans! We’re getting another Broadway remake. And this time, it’s the classic To Kill A Mockingbird! Read on for all the details!
What is Broadway for, if not another place to watch our favorite classic stories being retold time and time again? This year, Broadway doesn’t disappoint. To Kill A Mockingbird will grace the glittering stage. And so far, it seems like it’s going to be nothing less than spectacular. Casting has officially wrapped up and the debut is only a couple of months away. We hope you are as excited as we are! We’ve gathered everything you need to know about Broadway’s exciting new adaptation. Read ahead for all the juicy details.
A Star-Packed Cast And An Award-Winning Crew
Of course, we expect nothing less for Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-winning story. Its movie adaptation, afterall, remains as an iconic classic to this day. So it’s no surprise that Broadway is pulling out all of the stops for this one. From director to actors, To Kill A Mockingbird is shaping out to be the smash year-ender hit for Broadway. Here’s a short overview of its stellar cast so far.
Jeff Daniels As Atticus Finch
It’s looking more and more like a The Newsroom’s reunion here. Jeff Daniels is set to star lead, playing as the veritable hero, Atticus Finch. The Emmy-winning actor is set to work again with Aaron Sorkin and Scott Rudin. Daniels is known for roles in movies like God of Carnage and Blackbird. This will be the first time in a long time that Jeff Daniels performs on Broadway.
But it seems, however, that he’s a shoe-in for the show since day one. According to producer Scott Rudin, “We never talked about anybody but Jeff, from the very first conversation Aaron and I ever had about doing this together,” the producer added. “He’s a theater animal like Fredric March was a theater animal, or [Jason] Robards, or George [C.] Scott.”
As for the role and the show overall, Jeff only has great and exciting things to say, “We’re gonna do what we think it is.” The actor further adds that (pertaining to the adaptation), “It’s going to be the same but slightly deeper,”
Other Notable Cast Members
Complete casting has been announced last September 13. Aside from Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird boasts a talented cast, both Broadway veterans and new faces about. Celia Keenan-Bolger will play as Scout. Will Pullen will start opposit as her brother Jem. Other supporting cast includes Gideon Glick as Dill, Danny Wolohan as the reclusive neighbor Boo Radley. Frederick Weller will play as Bob Ewell, Gbenga Akinnagbe as Tom Robinson, Stark Sands as prosecutor Horace Gilmer, Dakin Matthews as Judge Taylor, Neal Huff as Link Deas, Erin Wilhelmi as Mayella Ewell, and LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Calpurnia, as well as Phyllis Somerville and Liv Rooth.
The newest additions to the production are Danny McCarthy, Baize Buzan, Thomas Michael Hammond, Ted Koch, David Manis, Aubie Merrylees, Doron JéPaul Mitchell, Jeff Still, Shona Tucker, and Rebecca Watson.
Harper Lee's @mockingbirdbway, written by Aaron Sorkin & starring @Jeff_Daniels, announces complete cast → https://t.co/Eizx7aeSWD pic.twitter.com/z014Tjriur
— TheaterMania (@theatermania) September 13, 2018
Award-Winning Production Crew
Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenplay writer, has adapted the script for Broadway. Sorkin is best known for his work in A Few Good Men and The Farnsworth Invention. He won an Oscar in 2011 for the adapted screenplay of The Social Network and a Golden Globe in 2016 for Steve Jobs. Furthermore, he is the creator of the television series The West Wing, for which he won four Emmy Awards, as well as Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom.
To Kill A Mockingbird will be directed by none other than Tonny award-winning Barlett Sher Sher is known working on South Pacific, helming the recent Broadway premiere of J.T. Rogers’ Oslo, a 2017 Tony winner for Best Play. He is will also be directing the upcoming Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. Sher’s other Broadway credits include The Light in the Piazza, Golden Boy, Awake and Sing, The Bridges of Madison County, Fiddler on the Roof and The King and I.
The play will also feature scenic design by Miriam Buether and costume design by Ann Roth. Lighting design will be by Jennifer Tipton, sound design by Scott Lehrer. For the play’s sound, an original score by Adam Guettel will play. Meanwhike, casting is by Daniel Swee,
To Kill A Mockingbird is produced by Scott Rudin, Barry Diller, Eli Bush, and Lincoln Center Theater.
Trouble With Harper Lee Estate
It’s not unusual for such a big production to have its fair share of hiccups. Since its development, news about the late Harper Lee’s estate’s Aaron Sorkin’s production spread. In fact, Harper Lee’s estate is suing Sorkin over the theater adaptation. According to sources, the reason is because the play deviates too much from the book.
This is not the first time Harper Lee’s estate has butt heads with producers over the late author’s 1960 Pulitzer award-winning novel. The estate claims that the production is breaching contract. According to the contract, “the Play shall not derogate or depart in any manner from the spirit of the Novel nor alter its characters.”
Producer Scott Rudin counters this statement saying, “I can’t and won’t present a play that feels like it was written in the year the book was written in terms of its racial politics: it wouldn’t be of interest,” he told the Times.“The world has changed since then.”
Either way, despite all of the derailments, To Kill A Mockingbird is still set to begin previews this November 1 at the Shubert Theatre. To check for ticket availablities, prices, and dates, click here for the best deals!