To Kill A Mockingbird Reviews

Brian G from Seattle, Washington

POOR BALANCE OF (TOO MUCH) COMEDY VS. IMPORTANT STORY

While the movie does an amazing job addressing such an important social topic, I felt like the play turned a serious story into near slapstick. There was a moment of hope with the courtroom scene where the daughter testified. This scene was intense and excellent. No stupid humor in this scene. I'm all for comic relief, but not when the balance is not there and when the stupid lines overpower the important parts of the story. They did keep the racism and did not tone this down, which was important. They kept the use of the N word, which is important for this story. But when you add in all the slapstick, then the use of the N word starts to feel inappropriate, because it becomes part of humor instead of part of the message. This story is so powerful and so important. Why in the world mess it up and replace the powerful story with mindless ha ha moments? This is one where it is better to watch the movie and/or read the book.

Thelma Lee from San Diego, California

SORKIN RUINS ATTICUS

How is it okay to alter the work of Harper Lee, and change the one of the most revered figures in modern literature into a buffoon in the service of fighting racism? Instead of a delicate hammer Sorkin’s work is now a sledge. To those unfamiliar with his work, it is well acted and has a topical progressive message about racism. To anyone who knows Lee’s masterpiece, however, it is a travesty.

Julian from Dallas, Texas

WORSE THAN A HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTION;; EXCRUCIATING!

We walked out of the play before intermission. First the acoustics at Fair Park are horrible and it’s very hard to hear the dialogue, especially when they deliver the dialogue so quickly, in poor southern accents, and with no artistic depth. Seems like the direction cue was to “shout and strut”. Not sure why the director thought it was wise to make this powerful piece of American fiction into a comedy. Seems like the entire cast was mugging for cheap, one-liner laughs. It was just excruciating. Richard Thomas was horrible. The actress who played Scout was horrible. Truly one of the worst performances that I have seen in my life — and that includes high school productions.

Tee from San Diego, Illinois

I SAW THIS IN SAN DIEGO

It is a complete distortion of the original novel. A travesty. Abrasive at times and it complete distorts Atticus, taking him from one of most heroic figures in literature to rather a buffoon.

Bring back FINDING NEVERLAND from Minneapolis, Minnesota

TIRED OF POLITICS AND PLATFORMS

I quit buying season tickets to the Minneapolis plays/productions. I’m tired of wonderful books and plays being rewritten to suit an agenda and characters having their “moments to lecture”. Leave that classic book alone as it was written! You did the same things to Jesus CHRIST Superstar. Omgsh! I walked out of both. No, I will not recommend this to anyone - this was so beneath Richard Thomas .

Michael from Indianapolis, Indiana

POOR ADAPTATION

I am a big fan of Aaron Sorkin, but was extremely disappointed in this production of To Kill a Mockingbird. I've never walked out on a theatre production, but I came very close on this one. My question is this: when did this literary classic become a comedy? At times I felt like I was watching a TV sitcom. The added humor into this deeply moving and important story was not necessary and made many of the characters into buffoons. The way the story was told was also clunky and confusing going back and forth from the trial. The sets were also not impressive with too many parts moving around the stage. I know folks like to offer a fresh take on Broadway shows, but this was in my opinion disrespectful to the source material and embarrassing to watch.

Christine from Indianapolis, Indiana

MOCKINGBIRD WAS KILLED BY THIS FIASCO

If you loved the book or the movie, you'll hate this adaptation by Sorkin. It's terrible! Racism is NOT funny, and yet he felt compelled to interject lame jokes throughout the play. The acting, except for Richard Thomas (the only saving grace on stage), was stiff and the rushed dialogue was difficult to hear. It seemed more like narration than actual character interaction. I cannot understand the casting of adults to play the parts of children, and they looked and acted ridiculous. Sorkin has made a point of saying that he wants his black characters to have meatier roles, and yet in this catastrophe of a production they have barely any stage presence, and usually just sit there silently. Such hypocrisy! We went hoping to see a production similar to the book or the movie- something that grabs your emotions and tells a heartbreaking story of injustice, but what we saw was a complete farce. It was a waste of money buying tickets to see this... thing. The best part of it for us was that we walked out when we couldn't take it anymore.

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