BWW Reviews: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD from Nashville's Circle Players

Despite a few glimmers of hope and the promise of a transformative evening of theatre, the current Circle Players production of To Kill a Mockingbird is a thoroughly passionless and completely uninspired staging of Harper Lee's classic Southern tale and, clearly, is one of the biggest disappointments of the Nashville theatre season.

Starring Clay Hillwig as Atticus Finch and a huge cast of local thespians cast as the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama, circa 1935, To Kill a Mockingbird is directed by veteran Melissa Williams whose far too literal interpretation of the work manages to discard most of the work's dramatic heft, resulting in a poorly conceived and an abysmally acted production. Missed opportunities abound in this staging that would have made it more impactful and more accessible for the audience. 

Certainly, Circle Players' production isn't helped by the fact that Lee's seminal novel is perhaps the quintessential Southern tome, something that generations have venerated and continue to read even in its 50^th year. Neither is the production helped by the continuing impact of the classic film version of the novel (starring Gregory Peck), which is beloved in its own right. Williams' decision to use Elmer Bernstein's memorable music from the film to underscore the play's final scene only serves to remind the audience how poorly the play fares in comparison to the movie.

Performed on the crowded stage of the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, with D.J. Ranta's clumsily executed set depicting the sleepy Southern town, the show's pace is as slow as molasses and the cast's line readings come across as just that: They sound as if they are doing a table reading of Christopher Sergel's script, with no inflection or emotion in their voices and absolutely no understanding of what they are performing. It doesn't matter how often you talk about the "importance" of the play's meaning (and, lord knows, that's repeated ad infinitum in the show's playbill) - if you don't understand it, all those pronouncements ring hollow and false..

Perhaps what is most troubling is the fact that there are few, if any, Southern accents to be heard in 1935 Maycomb (surely that is the one thing you could expect from a production of this show done in Nashville). The result seems inartful, at best, and phony, at worst. The best Southern accent on display comes from J. Daniel Brown as the prosecutor at Tom Robinson's (played flatly by Elliott Winston Robinson) trial for the rape of Mayella Ewell (Elizabeth Walsh). Unfortunately, Brown shouts every line as if he were hawking mattresses for a third-rate furniture store, thus losing any impact of his delivery. Leo Kling, playing Mayella's abusive daddy, appears to be in a completely different production from that of his co-stars, overplaying his scenes like some melodramatic movie villain.

Hillwig's Atticus has some good moments, but his characterization relies primarily on tucking his chin into his chest and looking over the top of his glasses while delivering his dramatic pronouncements. Natalie Corwin, cast as the grown-up Jean Louise Finch, to narrate the play's action seems to remember all her lines, but neglects to give them any shading or color to capture the book's warmth and the endearing tone of Lee's expressive prose.

The pivotal roles of Atticus' children Jem and Scout are played by Nicholas Driscoll and Delaney Jacoway and young Isaiah Frank plays Dill, the role inspired by Lee's childhood friend Truman Capote. Interestingly enough, it was the success of Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play - and Capote's unbridled jealousy of his friend's achievements - that irrevocably damaged the friendship of the two writers.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre has announced that To Kill A Mockingbird will open its 2010-2011 season. Here's hoping the audience fares better with that one.

- To Kill A Mockingbird. Dramatized by Christopher Sergel, based on the novel by Harper Lee. Directed by Melissa Williams. Presented by Circle Players. At the Z. Alexander Looby Theatre, 2301 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, Nashville. Through April 10. For details, visit the company website at www.circleplayers.net.

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