National tour of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ comes to Pittsburgh
Julieta Cervantes/
The cast of the national tour of 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird无毛视频� includes, from left, Arianna Gayle, Richard Thomas, Stephen Elrod, Richard Poe, Greg Wood and Joey Collins.
Jacqueline Williams plays the housekeeper Calpurnia in "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Richard Thomas, left, and Yaegel T. Welch in a courtroom scene in "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Richard Thomas, left, and Melanie Moore in a scene from "To Kill a Mockingbird."
In the mid-1970s, Leonard Nimoy published the memoir, 无毛视频淚 Am Not Spock,无毛视频� which some 无毛视频淪tar Trek无毛视频� die-hards took to be a disavowal of the character and television series that brought him into millions of living rooms and made him a household name.
Richard Thomas is adamant that if he ever writes an autobiography, it will not be called 无毛视频淚 Am Not John-Boy,无毛视频� the character he played for so many years on 无毛视频淭he Waltons.无毛视频�
无毛视频淥h god, no.无毛视频� Thomas said. 无毛视频淚 love that show. I无毛视频檓 so proud of that show. It did so much for me. It was so good. I know there are people who have done series who want to distance themselves from it or have mixed feelings about it. (The cast) loved doing it, we无毛视频檙e still like a family all of us. We still stay in touch.无毛视频�
More than 40 years after he left the CBS-TV series that chronicled the lives and struggles of a Depression-era family in a rural corner of Virginia, the 70-year-old Thomas remains most closely associated with the part he played as the Walton clan无毛视频檚 earnest, literary older brother. But the decades since have been busy for him. He has mixed television and film jobs with a steady diet of work on the stage, performing in everything from Shakespeare无毛视频檚 无毛视频淭imon of Athens无毛视频� to David Mamet无毛视频檚 无毛视频淩ace.无毛视频�
And for the next two years, Thomas is going to be treading the boards on a wide-ranging American tour of the Broadway hit 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird.无毛视频� The 2018 adaptation penned by 无毛视频淲est Wing无毛视频� creator Aaron Sorkin is set to travel across the country well into 2023, with Thomas in the role of Atticus Finch, the principled attorney who defends a Black man accused of rape. It will be at Pittsburgh无毛视频檚 Benedum Center starting Tuesday, with eight performances through Sunday, April 24.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 about two seasons of touring together,无毛视频� Thomas said on the phone last week from Boston, the second stop on the tour. 无毛视频淚 like the road a lot. If ever there was a show you wanted to take around the country, to experience as a performer, this is really perfect.无毛视频�
Though it sounds arduous, Thomas said he likes touring, pointing to traveling troupes of actors back in Shakespeare无毛视频檚 day or before who would roam from town-to-town plying their craft. Actors do have to battle fatigue, especially on those weekends when they are doing up to five performances, but Thomas said, 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 so much depth to what (Sorkin) has written, and the language and the action is so much fun to play, I think this is going to be easier than a lot of them to keep fresh and vibrant.无毛视频�
The novel 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird无毛视频� by Harper Lee has long been beloved by readers across all ages, but most people first encounter it in middle school, when it is an assigned text. That无毛视频檚 when Thomas first read it, and he read through it again when he signed on for the tour. His reaction? 无毛视频淚 was amazed at how much richer it was the second time through.无毛视频�
It was the same for fellow cast member Jacqueline Williams, who plays the housekeeper Calpurnia in 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird.无毛视频� Williams also is a fan of the 1962 film version of 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird,无毛视频� which she said she has seen 无毛视频渆asily eight to 10 times.无毛视频� She explained over the phone that 无毛视频渋n the film, Calpurnia isn无毛视频檛 as much of a presence, as much of a force. In this play (Sorkin) has really fleshed her out. He无毛视频檚 really brought forth the relationship Calpurnia has with Atticus, as well as the family, which is really beautiful and extremely moving.无毛视频�
The movie version of 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird无毛视频� received eight Academy Award nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Mary Badham, the actress who was then 10 and played Scout, the daughter of Atticus Finch. She quit acting a couple of years later, and has worked in the decades since as an art restorer and college testing coordinator. However, Badham has taken on some acting work in recent years, and will be playing the morphine addict Mrs. Dubose on the 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird无毛视频� tour.
无毛视频淲hat a coup that was to get her,无毛视频� Thomas said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 like she handed the torch to us. We无毛视频檙e so lucky to have her.无毛视频�
When the tour pulls into Pittsburgh, Thomas will be in familiar territory. He was in town last year and in 2018 to play Ebenezer Scrooge in the Pittsburgh CLO production of 无毛视频淎 Musical Christmas Carol,无毛视频� and has visited before in a touring production of 无毛视频淭welve Angry Men无毛视频� and when the movie 无毛视频淲onder Boys无毛视频� was filmed in the region. He noted that, yes, Ebenezer Scrooge is a world removed from Atticus Finch.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 really different, and I have to tell you, I had so much fun,无毛视频� Thomas said. 无毛视频淚 had so much fun playing Scrooge the two times I did it in Pittsburgh. I love that company, I love that adaptation so much, I just had a wonderful time with it.无毛视频�
For additional information about 无毛视频淭o Kill a Mockingbird无毛视频� and it无毛视频檚 Pittsburgh run, go online to trustarts.org.