Brooklyn College Presents TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 4/19

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College continues its 2008-09 Theater series with Montana Repertory Theatre's production of To Kill a Mockingbird on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 3pm.

Adapted by Christopher Sergel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, this faithful stage adaptation tells the story of Atticus Finch, an attorney and widower who defends a young black man falsely accused of violating a white woman in 1930s rural Alabama. Told through the eyes of Scout, his tomboyish daughter, the play explores the irrationality of attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the mid 20th century. Montana Rep's production celebrates the 50th anniversary of the novel's publication.

"Like many other fourteen-year olds of my generation, I was asked to read To Kill a Mockingbird over my summer vacation," commented Greg Johnson, Artistic Director of Montana Rep. "Sitting on the warm sand of the Jersey shore, about to embark on my high school career, I cracked the binding of Harper Lee's incredible story about Scout, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch, and instantly fell in love...in love with the poetry of the language, with the sassiness of Scout, the quiet dignity of Tom, the mystery of Boo, and ultimately with the courage of Atticus. He was the father we all wanted. This is the story we all grew up with. My life changed in that summer of '62. I would never again look at prejudice, intolerance, the South, or family with the same eyes."

To Kill a Mockingbird was also adapted into a film by director Robert Mulligan, with a screenplay by Horton Foote. The film starred Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and also marked the screen debut of Robert Duvall as Boo Radley. Mulligan's film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three (Best Actor, Gregory Peck; Best Adapted Screenplay, Horton Foote; and Best Art Direction). It also won three Golden Globe Awards.

Established in 1967, Montana Rep has been become one of the most widely recognized touring companies in the country. Recent productions include It's a Wonderful Life, The Diary of Anne Frank, Death of a Salesman, The Miracle Worker, A Streetcar Named Desire, Steel Magnolias, The Trip to Bountiful, Lost in Yonkers, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. In addition to their touring productions, Montana Rep has been offering educational outreach programs for the past twenty-five years.

Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400 seats Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving schoolchildren from over 225 schools annually.

To Kill a Mockingbird at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Whitman Theatre at BrooklynCollege, 2900 Campus Road, Brooklyn
(2 train to Flatbush Avenue / on-site paid parking available)
Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 3PM
Tickets: $30, $20
Running time: 2 hours, 15 mins
Online orders: www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org
Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1PM - 6PM
Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 22

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are made possible in part with public funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' 2008-2009 season is provided by: JP Morgan Chase; Independence Community Foundation; Con Edison; National Grid; Citi Foundation; Commerce Bank; Macy's; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Air Jamaica; the Carnegie Corporation of New York; and the Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in the New York Community Trust by founders of The Reader's Digest Association. Additional support provided by the Best Western Gregory Hotel, Courier-Life Publications, The Brooklyn Eagle, and The Brooklyn Paper.

Brooklyn Center gratefully acknowledges the support of the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York State Assembly: Assemblymembers William F. Boyland, William Colton, Steven Cymbrowitz, Diane Gordon, Janele Hyer-Spencer, Rhoda Jacobs, Alan Maisel, Joan Millman, Felix Ortiz, N. Nick Perry, Sheldon Silver, Darryl C. Towns, Helene E. Weinstein; and members of the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York State Senate: Senators Eric Adams, Martin Golden, Kevin Parker and John L. Sampson. Brooklyn Center thanks the New York City Council: Councilmembers Simcha Felder, Domenic M. Recchia Jr., Kendall B. Stewart, and Albert Vann, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin.

 

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