The Production Company Hosts Boys and Girls Club at TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

The Production Company announces its first community-outreach program by hosting the Boys and Girls Club of East Los Angeles at a special command performance of Christopher Sergel's stage adaptation of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD on Thursday, January 17th, 2011.

This special event celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Harper Lee's landmark novel and honors Black History Month. The evening will include discussions on prejudice and tolerance and each youth will receive a copy of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel to own.

Anna Araujo, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of East LA (BGCELA), states "To share this beloved story through the power of live theatre is a true gift for these youth and we look forward to an ongoing collaboration with this award winning theatre company."

The Production Company is dedicated to collaborating with and giving back to the Los Angeles community by generously sharing the powerful impact of live theatre with the leaders of tomorrow. "Often, when we are in the play selection process and revisit known works, we are stunned by present-day relevance." states Artistic Director August Viverito. "We look for great messages and great artists who can powerfully voice those messages, and then we nurture them. ‘To Kill A Mockingbird' is a perfect example." Director T L Kolman continues, "This is a story that begs to be re-examined, and now we are fortunate to have found a way to reach a young audience with it as well. Nothing could make us prouder".

The production features James Horan as Atticus Finch, Brighid Fleming as Scout, LJ Benet as Jem, Ferrell Marshall as Miss Maudie, and a whole lineup of remarkable talent including Christopher Carver, Inda Craig-Galvan, Margaret Dwyer, Patrick Fitzsimmons, Barbara Gruen, Jim Hanna, Lorenzo T. Hughes, Skip Pipo, and David Stifel. Directed by TheProdCo's Co-Artistic Directed T L Kolman.

The book's author Harper Lee, who is from the south Alabama town of Monroeville, attended law school at Alabama in the 1940s and never published another novel after "To Kill a Mockingbird" came out in 1960. She has been quoted to say that story came out of her youth in that town, where her friendship with author Truman Capote was forged. Capote is said to be the inspiration for her character ‘Dill', and instrumental in bringing the story to the page. It was turned into a movie starring Gregory Peck in 1962.

Speaking at the University of Alabama for a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder described how Lee's novel illustrates that a system can "grind innocent people into the ground," something he said was important to remember. While many people recall the heroism of Lee's fictional hero, attorney Atticus Finch, in defending a black man wrongly accused of rape, Holder said they often forget that Finch's client was still convicted and, ultimately, killed. "It's a book about injustice, a cautionary tale, but at the same time it's a book about courage," said Holder, speaking in a crowded lecture hall in the law school. "As we have seen in recent decades - and, unfortunately, in recent days - the world has not yet run its course of intolerance and bigotry. Injustice remains. Divisions and disparities remain. Bias- and hate-fueled violence persists," continued Holder. This is a story for our times.

THE PRODUCTION DETAILS
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD runs through February 19, 2011. Tickets may be purchased at www.theprodco.com or 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are $25 and advance purchase is highly recommended. For further information, call The Production Company at (323) 871-1150. The Lex Theatre - 6760 Lexington Avenue, Hollywood, CA 9038. One block north of Santa Monica Boulevard, just East of Highland Avenue.

FOR ALL PRESS INQUIRIES please contact August Viverito at THE Production Company at 310-869-7546 or by e-mail at mail@theprodco.com or visit www.theprodco.com.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF EAST LOS ANGELES DETAILS

The Boys & Girls Club has played an integral role in the East Los Angeles community for 60 years, providing daily programs and services to over 2500 young people annually, over 300 daily. The Club is open Monday-Friday, 1pm-7pm with programs that emphasize character & leadership development, education & career enhancement, health & life skills, the arts, sports & fitness and family empowerment.

FOR ALL PRESS INQUIRIES please contact Anna Araujo at the BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF EAST LA at 323- 263-4955 or by e-mail @ bgcela@yahoo.com or visit http://www.bgcela.bbnow.org/

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.