"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
This line uttered by Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is, in a way, the central theme of the entire tale.
Lee's novel details a short period in the 1930s in a fictional town called Maycomb, Alabama, through the eyes of Scout Finch, Atticus' 6-year-old daughter. Readers see Scout learn, grow and mature throughout the novel's pages as her father defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape.
In his 2018 stage adaptation of Mockingbird, coming to the First Interstate Center for the Arts from Dec. 5 to 10, playwright, screenwriter and director Aaron Sorkin imagines what it might be like to climb into the lawyer's skin and see things from his point of view instead.
"With Atticus at the forefront of the production, the audience gets to see how he grows as a character throughout the trial," says Melanie Moore, who plays Scout Finch in the production. "It's a different perspective, and it works well. The humor, tragedy and family dynamics and important questions are there, just presented in a different package."
Sorkin's adaptation has the three children — Scout, Jem and Dill — from Lee's original novel acting as narrators and appearing as past, present and future versions of themselves. The show relies on flashbacks to drive the plot and the fourth wall is broken numerous times as the children ask questions and discuss the trial among themselves.
"From the moment the curtain comes up it feels different," Moore says. "We are addressing the audience directly. I'm asking them questions. Aaron is causing people to sit forward in their seats and be active participants in our play and really listen and put the pieces together with me if they're willing."
Moore, now 32, tried to connect with her childhood self as she worked with the character of Scout more and more. She got her start in the performing world as a dancer, entering competitions at the age of 3 and then going on to win Season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance? when she was 18.
"Freedom, joy and laughter." Moore says. "That's what makes Scout such an incredible character. Not only did Harper Lee write her as such, but so did Aaron [Sorkin]. She's full of spunk and wonder. I channeled my childhood in Georgia. I identified with her greatly."
"I play Scout at multiple stages of her life," Moore continues. "I play an adult Scout who is looking back, present moment Scout, and the child version who has already seen the things we're talking about. That requires me to change my voice and my posture. She's a thinker and I relate to that. I'm a very questioning person."
Mockingbird is oft remembered as required reading in literature curriculums across the United States and remains a bestseller 60 years after its publication due to its still-relevant discussion of race and injustice.
The Broadway production of Mockingbird opened in December 2018 and suspended production in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the show started back up again in 2021, Moore says the story felt even more poignant after the hiatus.
"During the lull, we had time to sit on it," she says. "Also during that time, there was a move for racial equality with the Black Lives Matter movement. I think white Americans thought we had come so far. Now when people see the play, they are struck by how many details of it we still see in the United States today."
Sorkin's play takes the historic tale and addresses modern American divides that existed in the 1930s, the 1960s, and that still exist today. With discussion of skin color, social class, education and more, it delves deeper into the lives of its Black characters than the book or the 1962 film ever did with the help of the inquisitive child narrators.
"We hope that the audience is able to sit down with themselves afterward and think, 'Who was I in that play? Was I someone who sits and watches, or was I one of the kids who asks questions?' and 'Why do I have these feelings about people who don't look like me?'" Moore says. "I hope it will incite questions and inspire conversations that people might not have otherwise."
"People of color, Black people specifically, have tried to say that this is still happening, and it wasn't until 2020 that we, as a country, realized that we haven't come as far as we believe we have," she continues. "I hope that this show inspires people to get to know their community and then, when the show is revived in the future, hopefully, the world won't look like this any longer." ♦
To Kill a Mockingbird • Dec. 5-10; Mon-Sat at 7:30 pm; Sat at 2 pm; Sun at 1 pm and 6:30 pm • $52-$115 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • broadwayspokane.com
