Richard Thomas stars in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ in Philly. He talks about the play and his career.
Aaron Sorkin, who adapted the novel, has “taken [Finch] off his pedestal,” Thomas said. “He’s given him a story of a loss of innocence. He’s not an icon; icons belong on religious paintings."
Richard Thomas (remember John-Boy in “The Waltons?”), says that Atticus Finch, the idealistic lawyer Thomas plays in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” must confront an important question that we, too, face at this time.
“It’s holding a mirror up to us as a people,” said Thomas, who takes the stage at the Academy of Music in To Kill a Mockingbird next week. “It’s showing us how important our aspirations are and how far we fall short of them, and asks how we confront the reality of our lives and society without losing them.”
As Finch grapples with his and society’s shortcomings, “he comes to a reality that he has to face: How do you maintain what is the best of what we have and not become cynical? I can’t think of a better thing to think about these days,” Thomas said.
On Broadway, Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird — the same adaptation on tour here — became a must-get ticket. Five months after it opened on Dec. 13, 2018, it became the highest-grossing play in Broadway history at that time, with $40.1 million in ticket sales. On Feb. 26, 2020, 18,000 New York public school students — the largest audience on record for a play — watched it from their seats in Madison Square Garden.
“It’s so much a tribute to what Aaron Sorkin has done to the source material,” Thomas said.
And what source material!
In December, New York Times readers voted the source material, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer prize-winning 1960 novel by the same name, as best book in the last 125 years. Even so, Lee’s book has been frequently banned in libraries and school districts throughout the nation.
Sorkin’s treatment of the material was not without controversy. The novelist’s estate sued the production, saying that it deviated too far from her intent — particularly in the way Sorkin imagined Finch, played mainly by Jeff Daniels on Broadway. As so often happens, accommodations were reached, and the show went on.
Finch is the idealistic small-town Alabama lawyer who represents a Black man wrongly accused of rape in the 1930s Jim Crow era.
Sorkin has “taken [Finch] off his pedestal,” Thomas said. “He’s given him a story of a loss of innocence. He’s not an icon; icons belong on religious paintings. It allows the audience and me to meet him on a level of humanity, rather than just as a hero figure.
“It could have been sentimental, old school. If the rendition was sentimental or focused on the dilemma of the white savior — the white man who does good — it’s a little too easy,” Thomas said. “It’s important to examine these tropes. It’s a story we don’t need to hear anymore.”
In the story, Finch’s decision to represent Tom Robinson, the wrongly accused Black man played by Yaegel T. Welch, also has ramifications for Finch’s children, particularly his daughter, Scout, played by Melanie Moore. Interestingly, the touring cast includes Mary Badham, who was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Scout in the 1962 movie version, opposite Gregory Peck as Atticus. She was 10 at the time.
In this version, Badham takes on the completely opposite role of Mrs. DuBose — elderly and ill-tempered.
Thomas knows what it’s like to make that kind of acting switcheroo. Well-known for the innocent character he played in The Waltons, and now playing the morally upright Atticus Finch, he was cast in quite a different role in the hit Netflix series, “Ozark.” His character, Nathan Davis, is nothing but mean and manipulative.
“Let’s call it a palate cleanser. A digestive,” Thomas said with a laugh. “Yes, it’s always delicious to play those characters. The particular irony of Ozark is that there are no good people in Ozark.”
To Kill a Mockingbird will tour for about another year — it opened in March in Buffalo and will close next summer in Hartford. Thomas, who lives in Manhattan, said he likes being on tour — it’s his third. What he values, he said, is the sense of community the cast and crew develop as the show goes on.
“In directing the play, Bartlett Sher has made it a community effort,” Thomas said. “For a play, it has a very large cast — 24 actors — and together, they really represent community. We make the community. It’s a handmade feeling. There’s a feeling of community which is really important to telling this story.”
The company comes from Washington to Philadelphia — from the nation’s capital to the city where the nation began. Washington, Thomas said, is government “ensconced in all its grandeur,” in magnificent columned buildings.
“In Philadelphia, you have all the historical buildings, all on the human scale, where leaders got together and argued and did their thing,” he said. “It’s so approachable and the contrast is always interesting.”
Thomas, who wants to visit the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum of Art while here, has other Philadelphia connections. In 2008, he played Chick, a Gray Line tour guide, in the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s production of Terrence McNally’s “Unusual Acts of Devotion.”
July 12 through 24, Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, 215-893-1999 or kimmelculturalcampus.org
Merman and Martin
Everything’s coming up roses in Ambler, where Act II Playhouse stages its latest production, “Together Off-Broadway: Merman and Martin.” Broadway legends Ethel Merman and Mary Martin were friends offstage and luminaries on it. Directed by Tony Braithwaite, Act II Playhouse’s artistic director, the musical showcase focuses on the lives, careers, and most importantly, the songs made famous by Merman and Martin, including “Everything’s Coming up Roses,” “I’ve Got Rhythm,” and “Hello, Dolly!” “Those women, their story, and those tunes will — we hope — make our audiences’ faces hurt from smiling and toes ache from tapping,” Braithwaite said in a statement. Meredith Beck plays Martin and Sarah J. Gafgen is Merman.
Through Aug. 7, Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler. 215-654-0200 or act2.org
Disney in Upper Darby
Upper Darby’s Summer Stage program — the program that nurtured the young talent of actors Tina Fey and Monica Horan Rosenthal as well as Arden Theatre Co. executives Terrence J. Nolen and Amy L. Murphy — launches its season this week with “Disney Around the World.” It is the first show under the leadership of Chris Luner, the new artistic director, replacing retiring founder Harry Dietzler. Dietzler will now lead the Upper Darby Arts and Education Foundation, Summer Stage’s nonprofit sponsor. Luner grew up in the Summer Stage program and served on its staff. He said that Dietzler encouraged him to pursue a career in arts administration. In addition to a full lineup of shows throughout the summer, the highlight is the Mainstage Production. This year, it’s “The SpongeBob Musical,” complete with a full professional orchestra, July 29 through Aug. 6.
Through July 8, Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, 601 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill, 610-814-7270 or www.udsummerstage.org.
Check with individual venues for COVID-19 protocols.