Aaron Sorkin and Richard Thomas Talk Bringing ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ on Tour
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Even with an Academy Award and six Emmys on his mantel, Aaron Sorkin was intimidated by the idea of a bringing “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the stage. Harper Lee’s 1960 novel remains a beloved American classic, as does the 1962 film adaptation that earned Gregory Peck an Oscar for playing small-town lawyer Atticus Finch. But the writer set his fears aside; in 2018, “To Kill a Mockingbird” opened on Broadway with Jeff Daniels in the lead to positive reviews and record-breaking box office. It would go on to receive nine Tony nominations before being shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now the play is making its way across the U.S. on a national tour, where it’s currently playing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Nov. 27. The story is set in Depression Era Alabama and told through the eyes of Scout, Atticus Finch’s six-year-old daughter. When Atticus chooses to represent Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of rape, Scout begins to experience a loss of innocence as she grapple with concepts of racism and justice. With direction from Bartlett Sher, who earned a Tony nom for his work, the lead role of Atticus is played by stage and screen veteran Richard Thomas. It’s a busy time for Thomas, who is set to reprise his iconic, Emmy-winning “The Waltons” role in “A Waltons Thanksgiving,” airing Nov. 20 on the CW. Variety sat down with Sorkin and Thomas to discuss their love for the theater and how their current play is timelier than ever.
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What was your first experience with “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Was it the film or the book?
Aaron Sorkin: I read the book. I think in seventh grade, junior high school. I honestly can’t remember if I’d already seen the movie or not. I’ll bet I had.
Richard Thomas: Same thing, it was maybe the eighth grade. I can’t remember if I saw the movie before or after. But of course, the book makes such a strong impression on people at that age. It’s precisely when young people are developing a sense of social justice and outrage and fairness and unfairness and what it means to be a citizen. The movie is spellbinding and tells the story so well. So, I was deeply affected by both. In preparing for this production, I reread the novel. It reminded me that this is not a YA novel. It happens to work beautifully for young adults, but it’s a book written for adults and to read it as not only an older person, but as a father and a parent, it’s a completely different experience.
Richard, what did you initially think when you heard “Mockingbird” was being adapted for the stage?
Thomas: When I knew that Aaron and Jeff Daniels and Bart were going to do this, one of my first thoughts was, “I wonder if it’s gonna go on the road. Because I want to be on that train.” So I kept my ears and eyes peeled. When I got the invitation, I was just thrilled. First of all, it’s a play you just want to do but it’s also a great play to take on the road. Jeff was so fantastic in the show. I’ve known Jeff since 1981 — we did Lanford Wilson’s “Fifth of July” together. It was great to have him to steal from.
So you were on board right away whereas Aaron has been very open about feeling it was a “suicide mission” to adapt such a beloved story.
Thomas: Well, it’s different to have his task of starting it and asking, “What do I do?” It’s another thing for an actor to step into a role. That’s what we do. If I were worried about Olivier and Gieguld and Ralph Fiennes, I would never play “Hamlet.” You get to join hands with the actors who have played a role in the past. And you reach your hand out to the actor who plays it next. There’s a continuity of playing and that’s what keeps these plays alive, going forward from generation to generation. So to be a piece of that continuity is one of the thrilling things about being in theater.
Sorkin: I think he is downplaying his own bravery. The audience comes into the theater and probably 98% of them have seen the movie and there’s one Atticus in their head. It takes about four minutes to make the audience forget about Gregory Peck and realize that they’re seeing a new piece and a new Atticus.
Thomas: I just knew from the beginning that I would never be that tall. So I had to give up.
Why do you keep coming back to theater?
Thomas: I never left the theater. A lot of people think it’s like the gym — you have to go back to the theater or you lose your muscle. It’s an aging aunt that you have to go back and tea with like a dutiful family member. No, it’s a pleasure. It gives me pleasure and it fulfills a need as a performer that no other medium can fill. That’s not to denigrate the others, which are wonderful in their own way. But there’s something that theater gives you.
Sorkin: There is nothing like it. I love movies and I love television. I love that I get to do them. But I am just happiest and most comfortable in a rehearsal room, set taped out on the floor, or in a theater. They do this thing every night. It’s called the Maycomb Social, where the entire cast just gathers onstage and they’re behind the curtain. Everybody just wishes each other a good show. That’s something that you don’t get in any other medium.
Thomas: It’s a wonderful coming together. Except there’s no drink and it’s always the same people.
This show is going all over the U.S.. Have you felt a felt a different response from town to town?
Thomas: That’s the beauty of it. This is the great thing of having different people play one text – there are always different aspects of the text to be illuminated in different ways. It’s all about interpretation. So you can be as slavishly dedicated to the text as you want to be, but by virtue of bringing yourself to it, something is going to be illuminated. Maybe you won’t illuminate one thing that another actor does as well, but maybe something else about it will come forward. Basically, it’s a collective close reading of a text which we do every night in front of people. We continue to learn about it and every company will reveal a different prism. It’s thrilling to do that.
Aaron, are you still learning new things about the material?
Sorkin: I do. Certainly, when a new actor comes in, I’ll learn something new about it. The audience helps you learn something new – the audience is the 25th cast member. It just feels like the electrons are being rearranged in the building. It’s so exciting. And then, current events will teach me something about the play as well. You would hope that this story would become less relevant with every passing day. Chillingly, the opposite is happening. On the cover of this month’s Atlantic is a young African-American man named C.J. Rice. He’s 17 years old and was sent to prison for 30 to 60 years for a crime he physically could not have committed because of an injury that he had. A crime, by the way, in which no one was hurt. And he’s getting 30 to 60 years in prison. Now, hopefully that will be changed. But I just felt like this would be “To Kill a Mockingbird” if Atticus Finch was an incompetent public defender. It would be the same story.
Even though this show premiered in 2018, obviously so much has happened in just those four years.
Sorkin: Right. We shut down for two years because of COVID. And when we came back, I was asked, “So much has happened, did you make any changes to the play?” And there is one change and this is a bit of a spoiler. In the novel, Tom Robinson gets shot 18 times by the prison guards. And I felt like, 18 times sounds just over the top. So I changed it to five times. When we came back after George Floyd, I changed it back to 18 times. It didn’t sound over the top anymore.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” runs at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Nov. 27, visit BroadwayInHollywood.com or Ticketmaster.com. It will then play the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa Dec. 27 – Jan. 8, visit www.SCFTA.org for tickets and info. For more dates, visit https://tokillamockingbirdbroadway.com/tour/
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