This past weekend, our very own City High School Drama Production along with the Mary Jo Ghory Performing Arts Program presented the stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This show was made possible through a collaboration with many community partners such as Maggie Miller (Music Director) and Margo Wallace (Leader of CHS Mural Crew). Director Tom Moore and his cast worked on this production for about four months before their first show on Friday, January 25th.
Ultimately, the execution of this play perfectly shows the innocence stripped away from children when exposed to the reality of their racist town. To Kill A Mockingbird, originally published in 1960, is the story of brother and sister Jem and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and their friend Dill in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, in 1935. Their father, Atticus Finch is a respected lawyer who takes on the case of a black man named Tom Robinson accused of raping a white woman. Throughout Atticus’ trial, the kids spy on their reclusive neighbor known as Boo Radley who hasn’t left his house in fifteen years. As the story unfolds, the three kids are exposed to the evils of racism, stereotyping, and the injustice taking place in the court system.
Throughout the four months prior to the performances, the CHS Drama crew had some tough decisions to make. The toughest decision was whether or not to use the “n” word in their production of a show that has eleven uses of the word. Many community members and partners were quite vocal about their opinions on the issue. During one of their classes, the drama crew hosted two community partners with opposing views, hoping to widen their views and understandings. One community member was in favor of using the word; he felt that because there was no real hatred behind the word in the way the actors would have used it, it was fine to say. He brought up the idea of it being historically correct. In 1935, the “n” word was often used; sure, it was still a derogatory term, but it was more normalized back then. The other community member brought up that no matter how the word was being used, it was still a derogatory term. She brought up that many marginalized groups are trying to move away from any and all use of terms meant to harm or mock them. After hearing both sides of the issue, the Drama crew agreed to cut down to only two uses of the word, as eleven seemed unnecessary but none seemed accurate for the situation. In the end, the production of To Kill A Mockingbird featured no uses of the “n” word because not every member felt comfortable using it.
This production included many features that gave the play a feeling of realness. Before the play began, a slideshow was projected on to the wall of 37 portraying what it was like for black communities that had been impacted by the Great Depression. During the slideshow, Music Director Maggie Miller, along with some of the cast, played a variety of percussion instruments and sang classic black spiritual songs. Zaquia George, freshman, was a prominent voice throughout the music and had her singing highlighted in a scene where she played Reverend Sykes and sang “Wade in the Water”.
In addition to the live music and singing, actors Graeme Ellerman and Oona Husok, double cast as Atticus Finch, stole the show. Senior Oona Husok played Atticus at the Friday matinee show and the Saturday night show. She presented the character with a great amount of power and empathy, capitalizing on the hesitancy as well as the need of showing his children the harsh reality of their town. Junior Graeme Ellerman played Atticus at the Friday night show and the Saturday matinee. He presented Atticus in a very different way, he seemed much more stern and more geared towards protecting the children’s innocence. Overall, both actors did an amazing job in their shared role.
Freshman Mason Campbell also did an amazing job cast as the racist villain of the story Bob Ewell. Unlike the other cast members, there was not a point in the play where you felt like you could root for Mason’s character, which shows how much dedication Campbell put into his role. On the opposite side of that spectrum was sophomore Cougar Miller’s character Tom Robinson: the man who fell victim to Ewell’s accusations. Miller also showed some true dedication to his acting. During the court scene when Tom Robinson is on trial for sexual assault, Cougar could be found staring straight ahead, with seemingly no emotion in his eyes. His character seemed hopeless and lost.
This production branched out quite a bit from the usual CHS plays. There new additions such as live music and a mural designed specifically for this play. All in all the shows went great. Director Tom Moore did a wonderful job casting all his actors, they were all put into very fitting roles. The actors exceeded all expectations and helped bring in some money for the school. Now that To Kill A Mockingbird has finally wrapped up, the CHS Drama Production will be working on Scooby Doo: The Musical.
Ruby Lenertz