Theatre Baton Rouge presents Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation of the beloved Harper Lee Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Lee’s story of attorney Atticus Finch, played by Pete Rizzo, and his curious children Scout Finch (Addie Prochaska) and Jem Finch (Beau Willis), remains well-known to this day. It’s an impactful story about how a black man named Tom Robinson is wrongly accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, both of which live in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama.
Atticus Finch is ethical, and he didn’t settle for the racist customs of the 1930s in Alabama. In his eyes, the right thing to do was to defend a black man who did nothing wrong, so that’s exactly what he did.
“Atticus doesn’t see morality as a choice,” Rizzo said. “He knows he has a choice to make, but as he sees it, he can only make the right choice.”
This sense of morality and virtue is an ideal Atticus wants his children — Scout and Jem — to understand. Since they are so young, the racist essence of the era they grew up in is confusing but natural; it’s just the way it was back then.
Prochaska and Willis, however, are far removed from that way of thinking, said Jenny Ballard who is co-directing the play with Zac Thriffiley.
“Miss Jenny told us to think about what it would be like to walk in another person’s shoes,” Prochaska said.
Understanding what it would be like to be a child in this era, or a black man, is key to playing these characters accurately, she said. Tony Collins, who plays Tom Robinson, has been ready for the task since he read the book in his high school English class. He proudly told his teacher he would one day play Tom.
Now that he is playing Tom Robinson, he called his former teacher to let her know. She plans on attending. Collins’ passion for Robinson’s character is what made it work so well in his performance.
“This terrible thing happens to him,” Collins said. “It’s not fair. He’s a man who loves life, and just wants to help.”
“To Kill a Mockingbird” will take the stage at Theatre Baton Rouge through Oct. 8. The full schedule of show dates and times can be found at theatrebr.org. Tickets are $19 for students. Theatre Baton Rouge is located at 7155 Florida Blvd.
Pete Rizzo playing Atticus Finch talks to his son Jem during Theatre Baton Rouge's performance of To Kill A Mockingbird on Sept. 21, 2017. Theatre Baton Rouge will run the show from Sept. 22 through Oct. 8, 2017.
