To Kill a Mockingbird

There are many reasons why To Kill a Mockingbird is the world's mostly widely read and prescribed book on race, first among them being the narrator's voice, including her humor, reverence, and honesty. To capture this on the stage requires a delicate hand, particularly because of the dialectic between the maturity of the narrator and her innocence as a child.

(L to R) Caroline Rosenblum as Scout and Kathleen McCall as Jean Louise Finch Photo: Terry Shapiro

Director Sabin Epstein artfully blends the two points-of-view—that of Scout (Caroline Rosenblum), the live action child, and that of her alter ego adult self, Jean Louise Finch (Kathleen McCall), the narrator. McCall's work is engaging and heartfelt, not only in her narrative, but as an observer and in symbolic interactions with Scout. Rosenblum is a treat as the inquisitive and precociously wise child.

John Hutton as Atticus Finch Photo: Terry Shapiro

Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Gregory Peck, decked out in his tortoise-shell glasses and rumpled white-linen suit, John Hutton leverages his considerable gravitas and vocal powers to bring the full import of the larger-than-life figure of Atticus Finch to the stage. When Hutton addresses us as if we were the jury, we are stirred with righteous indignation at the injustice being levied upon his client, the defendant, Tom Robinson (a noble Tyrien Obahnjoko).

The speech itself, the defense's closing argument, is the crux of this morality play; it is both a sermon and meditation upon race and human dignity. If there is a catharsis in this genre, it is delivered in Atticus' message: that the color of a person's skin has absolutely no bearing on his or her integrity and importance in the eyes of G-d.

Thomas Russo as Dill, Caroline Rosenblum as Scout, Kim Staunton as Calpurnia, and Matthew Gary as Jem Photo: Terry Shapiro

James Kronzer's elegant and economic set keeps the focus where it belongs, on the characters, where we're treated to a number of excellent performances, including Kim Staunton's endearing Calpurnia, Kathleen M. Brady's ascerbic Mrs. Dubose, Mike Hartman's rabid Bob Ewell, and Jeffrey Roark's upright Heck Tate.

While race relations in the United States have evolved, we still have a long ways to go, and such well-crafted revisitations of Harper Lee's story play an important part in keeping our eyes on the prize.

The Denver Center Theatre Company's production of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird runs through October 30th. 303-893-4100 or www.denvercenter.org.

Bob Bows