‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ starts US tour with performances at Eccles Theater

Photo: Salt Lake City Government

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — After being prematurely canceled on Broadway in early 2020, Aaron Sorkin’s stage production of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” made its comeback this week in Salt Lake City at the Eccles Theater. It will run from Wednesday September 7 to Sunday September 11.

Aaron Sorkin, known for his work on political dramas including “The West Wing” and “Trial of the Chicago Seven” (2020), began adapting Harper Lee’s beloved novel long before its opening run in early 2020 on Broadway in New York City. While it was canceled early because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the short run of “To Kill a Mockingbird” received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The play closely follow’s Lee’s novel by depicting racial tensions in Alabama in the 1930s, as well as illustrating adolescence amidst said tensions.

As the COVID-19 pandemic slowed in NYC, the production did not resume on Broadway due to internal conflict between Sorkin and the original producer Scott Rudin as reported by The New York Times. The play was produced again on London’s West End and again received extremely positive reviews.

A new national tour of Sorkin’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” began this week with Salt Lake City as its first destination. It will then continue on to more than 20 locations around the country. The touring production features a different cast than in London, with Richard Thomas starring as Atticus Finch.

Lee’s novel has been the subject of other adaptations, including a feature length film of the same title released in 1962 staring Gregory Peck. “To Kill a Mockingbird” has also been the subject of recent debate since Lee’s previously unpublished first-draft (or possibly sequel) was released to the public in 2015 titled as “Go Set a Watchman.”