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To Kill a Mockingbird
PromotionalPlaybill cover of the original Broadway production
Written by	Aaron Sorkin
Based on	To Kill a Mockingbird byHarper Lee
Date premiered	December 13, 2018 (2018-12-13)
Place premiered	Shubert Theatre, New York City
Genre	Drama
Setting	Maycomb,Alabama

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 2018 play based on the1960 novel of the same name byHarper Lee, adapted for the stage byAaron Sorkin. It opened onBroadway at theShubert Theatre on December 13, 2018. The play opened in London'sWest End at theGielgud Theatre in March 2022.^[1][2] The show follows the story ofAtticus Finch, a lawyer in 1930s Alabama, as he defends Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape.^[3] Varying from the book, the play has Atticus as the protagonist, not his daughter Scout, allowing his character to change throughout the show.^[4] During development the show was involved in two legal disputes, the first with the Lee estate over the faithfulness of the play to the original book, and the second was due to exclusivity to the rights with productions using an earlier script by Christopher Sergel.^[4][5] During opening week, the production garnered more than $1.5 million in box office sales and reviews by publications such as theNew York Times,LA Times andAMNY were positive but not without criticism.^[6][7][8][9]

Broadway (2018–2022)^[10][11]

• Atticus Finch –Ed Harris,Greg Kinnear
• Jem Finch –Nick Robinson,Hunter Parrish
• Dill Harris –Taylor Trensch,Noah Robbins
• Bob Ewell –Neal Huff
• Tom Robinson –Kyle Scatliffe
• Horace Gilmer –Manoel Felciano
• Judge John Taylor –Gordon Clapp
• Mayella Ewell –Eliza Scanlen
• Link Deas –Russell Harvard,William Youmans
• Boo Radley –Russell Harvard
• Calpurnia –LisaGay Hamilton

West End (2022–2023)^[12]

• Atticus Finch –Richard Coyle,Matthew Modine
• Bob Ewell –Jason Hughes
• Judge John Taylor –Niall Buggy
• Calpurnia –Cecilia Noble

It was announced in February 2016 thatAaron Sorkin would bring thePulitzer Prize-winning novel to Broadway, in a new production produced byScott Rudin and directed byBartlett Sher.^[13] The book had previously been adapted for the stage but Rudin specified that this production would be completely unrelated to the prior pieces.^{[citation needed]} On February 15, 2018, it was announced thatJeff Daniels would star in the production asAtticus Finch.^{[citation needed]}Celia Keenan-Bolger and Will Pullen were also announced to play Scout and Jem Finch, respectively.^[14] The production began previews at theShubert Theatre on November 1, 2018, prior to an official opening on December 13, 2018.

During production the show was involved in two legal disputes, one with the Harper Lee estate, and the other against licensed productions of the Christopher Sergel adaptation.^[15][16]

On March 12, 2020, the play suspended production due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[17] The play resumed performances on October 5, 2021 at the Shubert Theatre, with the original cast of Jeff Daniels and Celia Keenan-Bolger returning. A new executive producer, Orin Wolf, took over.^[18] On January 12, 2022, it was announced the show would play its final performance at the Shubert Theatre on January 16, and reopen at theBelasco Theatre on June 1.^[19]Greg Kinnear was set to resume as Atticus Finch when the production reopened.^[20] However, the production did not reopen and on July 29, 2022, it was reported the Broadway production would not reopen after producer Scott Rudin decided that he did not have confidence in the climate for plays the following winter.^[21]

In 2019 it was announced that the production would transfer toLondon'sWest End to theGielgud Theatre opening in May 2020 withRhys Ifans asAtticus Finch before being postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[22]

It eventually opened on 31 March 2022 withRafe Spall replacing Ifans asAtticus Finch, andGwyneth Keyworth as Scout.^[23][24]

Spall was replaced byRichard Coyle^[25] from August 2022 until November 2022, and then from December 2022Matthew Modine took over as Atticus Finch^[26] until the end of the extended run on 20 May 2023, with Anna Munden replacing Keyworth as Scout.

During development of the play, the Lee estate believed that the proposed script varied too much from the book, and a complaint was filed in an Alabama federal court in March 2018.^[15] In discussion with Sorkin about the terms of use for the rights to produce a play, it was specified by the estate that the character of Atticus should not deviate from the original character created by Harper Lee.^[27] The Lee estate alleged that Sorkin had made too many changes to the original story by framing Atticus as the main character instead of Scout.^[4] Sorkin describes how the evolution of Atticus was viewed by the Lee estate as being "far less dignified" than the original character but the show's lawyers disputed this point stating his character "does not derogate or depart from the spirit of the novel."^[15] Because the Lee estate lawsuit was jeopardizing the release of the show, a countersuit of $10 million was filed by Sorkin's lawyers in April 2018.^[27] In May 2018, the premiere of the show was confirmed after an agreement was reached between the two parties, and both lawsuits were settled.^[27]

Before Sorkin adaptedTo Kill a Mockingbird for the theatre, a different adaptation of the novel by playwright Christopher Sergel had been available for license for over 50 years.^[28] Claiming worldwide exclusivity for the professional stage rights to any adaptation of Lee's novel, lawyers acting for the company Scott Rudin formed to produce Sorkin's adaptation, Atticus LLC (ALLC), moved to shut down productions of the Sergel adaption staged within 25 miles of any city that ALLC determined to be a major metropolitan center that might eventually host a production of Sorkin's adaptation, even if that company had already paid the rights holders.^{[29][30][5][31]} Dozens of community and non-profit theaters across the US cancelled productions of Sergel's adaptation, as well as a professional tour planned in the UK.^[32][33] After a public outcry, Scott Rudin offered to "ameliorate the hurt caused" by making Sorkin's adaptation available to regional producers.^[34] In 2022, Harper Lee's estate was ordered by an arbitor to pay $2.5 million to Dramatic Publishing in damages and fees.^[35]

While some critics criticized the liberties taken by Sorkin, theLos Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty however wrote that Sorkin's adaptation "moves as confidently as it speaks even if it doesn't completely add up dramatically."^[7] McNulty disputes those who take issue with the changes Sorkin made to the story by stating that Sorkin "created something impeccably fresh."^[7] Jesse Green, a theater critic from theNew York Times articulated that Sorkin's choice to start with the trial and provide backstory through scenes going back in time was "very effective" for telling the story on stage.^[8] Matt Windman argues that "some of Sorkin's choices are questionable" and that the set design was "too distracting to be effective."^[9] Windman also articulates that the show "proves to be an engrossing, provocative, and uniformly well-acted adaptation."^[9]

The show opened on December 13, 2018. During the week ending on December 23, the production grossed over $1.5 million, breaking the record for box office grosses for a non-musical play in a theater owned byThe Shubert Organization.^[6] Prior to opening, $22 million were made in advance ticket sales at the box office.^[36]

• ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ at theInternet Broadway Database

• 2018 plays
• Broadway plays
• Courtroom drama plays
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Plays based on novels
• Plays by Aaron Sorkin
• Plays set in Alabama
• Plays set in the 1930s
• Tony Award–winning plays
• Fiction about false allegations of sex crimes
• Fiction about wrongful convictions
• Plays about race and ethnicity
• Plays set in courtrooms

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