Sunday November 26th, 2023

Had the opportunity of attending the media night opening for the Tony award winning stage show, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Mirvish)  https://www.mirvish.com  at Toronto’s  CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre (244 Victoria St)  . Some background, this 2018 play is based on the 1960 novel  by Harper Lee but adapted for the stage by American playwright/ screenwriter Aaron Sorkin ,opening on Broadway on December 13, 2018 (the film was released on Christmas day, 1962).  The story was inspired by Harper Lee’s own childhood growing up in Alabama and is about a white lawyer in 1930s Alabama defending a black man falsely accused of rape. Sounds simple but it’s not since we are talking about a very racist and segregated time.  This stage show is very much based on the book(so if you’ve seen the film ignore what you think you know).  The language is very raw (the N word is used several times) but the performances of the actors were very  strong.  As a person of colour,  at times I felt uncomfortable watching this in a mainly white audience . I felt they would be watching this with “different” eyes and experiences than I would. I would say yes,  see this but be open minded on when To Kill a Mockingbird  was written to what we know and experience today.  Emotions can run high watching this stage show. This performance was a short run and will be returning May 28th, 2024 at Toronto’s  CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre (244 Victoria St).  I give  Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Mirvish) 3 stars out of 5.

( Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Mirvish)  https://tinyurl.com/3ufk68w5  )