As reclusive as Boo Radley is, To Kill a Mockingbird is as ubiquitous, being a favorite among theater-goers and school groups alike. Civic Theatre’s rendition is the quintessential live production, with all the heart that goes into Harper Lee’s classic story.
The adult Jean Louise (Michelle Wafford) narrates the story about her father Atticus’s (Steve Kruze) trial defense of a black man, Tom Robinson (Antoine Demmings), back when she was a little girl called Scout (Bridget Bingham) in 1935. She, her brother Jem (Dalyn Stewart), and out-of-town friend Dill (Ben Boyce) had been especially speculating on the hermit Boo Radley (Colby Rison) since his brother Nathan (also played by Rison) had returned to take care of him, and Scout had been finding small gifts in the knot of a tree that separated their property.
That summer, Scout and Jem, and by extension Dill, learn a lot about the nature of people — the unseen things that make people more than a one-dimensional caricature — and what it means to do the right thing.
The large cast does a lovely job of bringing the townspeople of Maycomb, Alabama, to life. The children are charming, and Kruze effectively conveys both the fortitude and weariness of a man besieged by honor.
Emily Rogge Tzucker directs a show that brings the life-changing events home for the audience. The show is both shrewd and sympathetic as it reveals the best and worst of humanity.
- Through Feb. 23, Thursdays-Saturdays at 7 p.m. (except the last Saturday at 5 p.m.) and Sundays at 2 p.m.
- $43; $25 students
- http://civictheatre.org
Indianapolis Theater Reviews 