TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

To Kill a Mockingbird endures, like Tom Sawyer and Gone with the Wind, as a story that speaks powerfully to the American consciousness. Both provocative and sentimental, Harper Lee’s tale of a little girl named Scout follows three years of her life, growing up in the rural South during the Great Depression. The major event of these years involves her father, Atticus Finch, and his defense a black man from the false accusations of a white man. The story speaks as loudly today as it ever did, and just as universally.

The story is as beloved for the 1962 film version starring Gregory Peck as it is for the 1960 novel. There are, in addition, at least two stage versions. A production of the Christopher Sergel adaptation opened at Studio Arena Theatre this week. This retelling taps into the novel’s appeal as a sentimental favorite, making the narrative voice of Scout, now called Jean Louise, literal. In Sergel’s vision, Jean Louise takes on the personality of the nostalgic reader. In her wistful rendering of events, condensed into a single summer, Jean Louise seems as aware of our history as readers of one of the most beloved American novels of all time as she is of her own life story.

Eileen Dugan lends Jean Louise a lilting and mature voice reminiscent of Broadway and Hollywood legend Kim Stanley’s narration for the film. We are hooked from the moment she evokes the familiar words, “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow,” with the gentlest suggestion of an Alabama accent. I saw Linda Emond play the same role at the Cleveland Play House, many years ago, long before her star turns in New York, and to similar effect. Rather than assert her own personality or presence, the adult Jean Louise is meant to dissolve into the memories of the adoring reader or moviegoer. The text, certainly sustains this choice:

“When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out.”

And, of course, Atticus, who is enlisted as the judge in this contest of memory, declares them both right. The years of our youth become long ago and far away, but the lessons we extract from our pasts stay with us.

So much of the act of creating drama rests in the ability to select events wisely, and to communicate viewpoint convincingly. In this regard, To Kill a Mockingbird is a work of genius. Harper Lee cleverly relates some of the largest themes of our time through the perspective of a child, and invites us to look back upon the events of her life, endowed with the experience and wisdom of adults.

The Road Less Traveled production of To Kill a Mockingbird at Studio Arena does nothing to tamper with our memories. The cast appealingly evokes the characters we remember. Doug Zschiegner is a calming paternal presence as Atticus Finch. The adoration of his children, as well as their impatience with him is palpable.

As those children, Faith Sheehan as Scout and Cory Grzechowiak as Jem are endearing and full of spirit. Joseph Westphal is adorable as the quirky and diminutive Dill. Clear diction will come to each of them with experience.

Under the capable and even-handed direction Scott Behrend, the stage is populated with a large array of fine local character actors: Arlene Clement is ill-tempered Mrs. Dubose; Cassie Corniewicz as much-abused Mayella Ewell; G. Anton Moore with his melodious voice as Rev. Sykes; Greg Natale as slovenly Bob Ewell; and wonderful and charismatic Verneice Turner as loving and selfless Calpurnia. Dee LaMonte Perry and Tim Klein excel as much wronged Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Klein also plays the oily but impeccably dressed prosecutor, Mr. Gilmer.

Troy Hourie’s set evokes a small Alabama town, using an effective stylized realism. Donna Massimo’s costumes, John Rickus’ lighting, Katie Menke’s sound design and Guy Wagner’s fight choreography all contribute to a satisfying, thought-provoking, and above all, nostalgic evening, in which the issues of the text share center stage with our memories of first experiencing them.

THE ANGELINA PROJECT

At the heart of Frank Canino’s play, The Angelina Project, is an irresistible story, the dark and gripping tale of Angelina Napolitano, an Italian immigrant woman who took an ax and murdered her husband in his bed one morning in 1911, after sending her children to church. Canino structures the story as a mystery within a mystery by establishing the woman’s granddaughter, Amelia, as an academic sleuth. Like Oedipus, Amelia is unaware that she is investigating her own family history. Once the truth is revealed however, contemporary family issues are exposed.

Though the Oedipus parallel is available, Canino has gravitated toward another dysfunctional family from ancient Greek mythology. Clytemnestra, who axed her husband Agamemnon in the bath in revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter makes a brief appearance as a character in this play—in a dual performance by Kelly Beuth, who also plays Angelina. This choice lends The Angelina Project its only mannered and artsy element, which serves to encumber the central story. This is either a conceit established in an early draft, which the playwright wouldn’t let go, or a latter layer that looked intriguing on paper. It seemed extraneous to an otherwise dynamic story on opening night. The story itself is imbued with large issues, and does not need to have layers of import added on.

Director Thomas Dooney has focused on the acting in a production that veers, wisely, in the direction of minimalism. In addition to Beuth, the cast, (reduced by one at the last minute) includes Maggie Zindle as Amelia, Joy Scime as her mother Amelia, Megan Townsend as her daughter, Katie White and Timothy Finnegan as multiple characters. This ensemble ably assays the material and is most successful when that material is most economical. They approach the script with total commitment and with great vigor. Beuth is impressive as Angelina. Zindle gives a secure, if unemotional performance as Amelia. Townsend is appealing as the sassy and outspoken daughter. White, as ever, communicates clearly and effectively as the lesbian best-friend and other characters. Finnegan bravely forges ahead as the rotten boyfriend and husband.

Canino clearly sees something ritualistic in the reenactment of this family history, and employs ritualistic repetitions of phrases and dramatic moments, especially as additional insights are revealed. These, too, are most effective when they unfurl with the power and momentum derived from simplicity.

At its core, The Angelina Project is a compelling and engaging play. The central focus on three generations of women, haunted by the ghost of the absent grandmother is dramatic and thought-provoking.