"He blew me away with his determination to survive, and yet at the same time, be an upstanding character about it. He admired the actor Brock Peters’ depiction of Tom Robinson and later earned his union card at New Repertory Theatre for his work on the staging of the play, Welch says. When he was in college at Brandeis University, Welch bought the Criterion Collection of "To Kill a Mockingbird” to study it. Welch has been steeped in this story for a long time. So that's, I think, the center of the piece, and that's what kind of holds it together… and it has a big impact on who we were, and then sort of teaching us about, you know, how we need to be better." Left to right: Justin Mark as Jem Finch, Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch, Melanie Moore as Scout Finch and Steven Lee Johnson as Dill Harris in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” (Courtesy Julieta Cervantes) ![]() The story is about how they learn about justice how they learn about racism. "It's really about the moral and ethical development of kids. Welch was drawn to the kids in the story and their adventures, the mystery of Boo Radley (the town recluse who lived on the Finch family's street), but points out that he didn't grasp the weight of Robinson's plight at the time. "I believe it will inspire empathy in all of us."Īt its core, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a coming-of-age story, Welch says when recalling the first time he saw the film as a child. Welch encourages audiences to come to the show with an open mind, he says. And certain characters have more of a voice.” The play "in some ways addresses places where the book and movie might have missed. He says the show’s director, Bartlett Sher, and the producers fought hard to deal with certain things. Welch wants people to know the play is not the book and it's not the film. So, the story "stays relevant because keeps happening," he says. In addition to acknowledging injustice, Welch talks about the continued killings of Black people by police, listing George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and others, and how these deaths often go unpunished. Welch as Tom Robinson in “To Kill a Mockingbird. "It was trying to correct some wrongs, and it was a majority community trying to acknowledge that they sort of see what was wrong in society and how even some of their ancestors may have participated." Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch and Yaegel T. ![]() Yaegel Welch, the actor portraying Tom Robinson in the show's latest run, thinks the work "was, I guess, considered a version of woke," he says. But what about this ubiquitous tale makes it so enduring? This often-staged play, like the book, seems to resonate with audiences. The production, presented by Broadway in Boston, runs through April 17. Lee's narrative is also the subject of a lauded 1962 film and popular 2018 play by Aaron Sorkin, touring throughout the U.S. This story is at the center of the late Harper Lee's celebrated Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," published in 1960 and set in the 1930s. A white lawyer, Atticus Finch, a believer in the justice system, works hard to defend the man, Tom Robinson, for whom a guilty verdict (and likely an innocent one too) would mean certain death. In a small town in Alabama, a Black man is accused of raping a white woman. ![]() Facebook Email Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch and Melanie Moore as Scout Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird." (Courtesy Julieta Cervantes)
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