RELEVANCE REMAINS: 'To Kill a Mockingbird’ enters closing weekend at Thalian

A note from the author: 

Before I publish this article I want to acknowledge a few things that are not lost on me. This article is written by a white woman (me), featuring interviews with two white actors who play a white protagonist and white antagonist in a theatrical reproduction of a book about racism in the South written by a white woman. In part, this happens with tight deadlines and less time to schedule more interviews and cultivate nuance. Nevertheless, it’s important to acknowledge when Black voices are missing from conversations, especially as it relates to race and racism, and how it is portrayed in the media. 

That said, if you have thoughts about these works from a perspective not represented in this article, the play or book it’s about, please email info@encorepub.org. 

“To Kill a Mockingbird” was voted by PBS viewers as America’s #1 best-loved novel in The Great American Read, yet it's also one of the most challenged books since its publication in 1960. Personally, this book has been ingrained in my psyche since reading it in 6th or 7th grade. The profound racial injustice Harper Lee presents to readers through the eyes of a young Southern white girl, Scout (Jean Louise), is not easy to digest—which might be the point. Jean Louise (the adult narrator) tells the story of her lawyer father, Atticus Finch, a white lawyer defending a Black man (Tom Robinson) falsely accused of raping a white woman in the Jim Crow South. Whether you have read this book or not, you know the implications of the premise.

Racial injustice, bigotry, and violence deeply rooted in white supremacy are inconvenient and uncomfortable truths for a lot of adults to talk about or even acknowledge—especially for white people who refuse to recognize these issues in the first place.

“I believe that this novel, which was written by a white woman for white people essentially, relays a message of incredible importance in this day and age: despite the social and often permanent consequences of standing for what is moral, good, and right in an immoral, callous, and unjust society, it is vital that we do it anyway.” 

That’s Hannie Bowen, who plays grownup Jean Louise (Scout) and narrator of the play “To Kill a Mockingbird,” now showing at Thalian Hall’s Main Stage until March 1. Bowen explains that her character leads the audience through the story with grace, indignance, and the perspective of an adult looking back at the most foundational event of childhood.

“I play her as if she is remembering these events in 1960 (the year the novel was published) and experiencing the Civil Rights Movement outside the world of the play,” Bowen continues. “She is questioning her actions and the responses of her loved ones and neighbors to the Tom Robinson trial, as well as reflecting upon her experience as a little white girl seeing the horrors of racial injustice and inequality for the first time in close proximity to her own family.”

Jamey Stone plays Bob Ewell, an abusive father to Mayella, and an unrepentant racist. Ewell falsely accuses Tom Robinson of raping Mayella. 

“I guess I just had to take everything I’ve learned about being a decent human being and throw it all out the window [to play Ewell],” Stone quips. “I have to admit, it was quite a challenge to have to use the N-word multiple times throughout the script, but as I’ve always said these creatures exist and should be portrayed accurately. I’ve received a ton of support from my cast members, particularly from the African-American members of the cast, who understand the point of the play, and what is necessary to convey the atmosphere. Thankfully, the character does not come to a particularly kind fate by the end of the show, so that gives me some degree of satisfaction.”

Read more from the actors and plan to see the show this weekend until its final curtain call on March 1.

Photos by Bryan Putnam

encore: When and how were you introduced to To Kill a Mockingbird? What is your relationship to this story and how has it evolved (or not) over time?

Jamey Stone (JS): I’m pretty sure I was supposed to have read the book some time during middle school or high school but I was a terrible student and blew off a lot of my assignments, so having also not seen the movie, this is my first exposure to the source material in general. I had a general idea of what the story was about, but nothing really concrete.

Because of all of this, I’m probably viewing it with some of the freshest eyes in the cast!

Hannie Bowen (HB): I first read “To Kill A Mockingbird” at the age of 14, as a freshman in high school, but reread it again to prepare for the audition for this show. My husband's grandfather passed away last February and we were left with a first edition copy of the book, so I had the joy of using it as the copy for my second read. I could see the places where ash from his grandmother's cigarette had fallen onto many pages, her fingerprints where she'd quickly wiped the cinders away; she died in the early 2000s, so I never met her. It made me feel very close to her in those moments, wishing I could talk to her about her experience reading the book as a southern white woman in 1960—in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. Speculation about what those conversations would look like deepened my response to the novel, as did my own maturity and current experience upon my second read. I found the story more impactful and noticed much more about the characters' journeys and the quality of Harper Lee's writing. Moments in the novel I hadn't remembered or reflected upon became incredibly powerful through this new lens.

e: What is the significance of telling this story through a theatrical production now in 2026?

JS: It brings to life a story that reaches increasingly fragile attention spans.

Having the characters living and breathing on the stage in front of you hits in a way that reading the book alone may not accomplish.

HB: I believe that this novel, which was written by a white woman for white people essentially, relays a message of incredible importance in this day and age: despite the social and often permanent consequences of standing for what is moral, good, and right in an immoral, callous, and unjust society, it is vital that we do it anyway.

There is a quote in both the play and in the book spoken by the character Miss Maudie that I feel encompasses this theme: "When we are called upon to be Christians, we send men like Atticus to do it for us." Atticus, despite knowing how Tom Robinson's trial will affect his career, his immediate community, and his very life and his children's lives, chooses to defend him. He believes Tom, and will not rest until the truth is told. He loves his neighbor, he comforts the prisoner, he sets an example for his children and the audience at large of the courage it takes to be a beacon of morality in a world willing to punish that courage by any means necessary. Given the events that have transpired in our nation in only the first two months of this year, I'd argue that this message is (unfortunately) more prescient now than ever before.  

e: How is this story still relevant to our social conversation today? Are there important points and themes that continue to be lost or forgotten? Are there nuances lost, gained, or changed in the theatrical version, in your opinion?

JS: This story will never not be relevant…unfortunately. Maybe one day, society will learn but until then, this play should be performed as often as possible…everywhere.

HB: I do believe that the novel is an essential read, but I don't think that any nuances of the central themes are lost in the play. Rather, I believe that for an audience of young people, and particularly young white people who have had the privilege of being shielded from the violence of systemic racism, the depiction of the story in the form of a play is even more effective. I continue to think of the educational show we performed last week for almost 400 eighth grade students from the New Hanover county school system; in the talk-back after the show, a student shared with us that -- even though he'd read the novel with his class -- the impact of hearing "that word" said in context and with such hate, and the injustice depicted using "that word" as a weapon, greatly changed his experience of the story and put into perspective the importance of understanding the power of words. So, while the novel provides more detail about the events depicted in the play, has a larger cast of complex and riveting characters, and takes the reader deeper into the memories of a mature and reflective Jean Louise, the benefit of experiencing the story through live theater is invaluable.  

e:  What is important for you to share about this story and your part of it at this moment?

JS: Atticus Finch is a flawed hero, but a hero nonetheless. We sometimes can’t relate to doing the right thing for the right reasons even if it’s a hopeless battle but Atticus displays one the most unshakable moral centers in literature. If you don’t leave the theater with a renewed sense of justice and what’s worth fighting for, no book, no theatrical production, no film can help you.

HB: “To Kill A Mockingbird” reminds us that the status quo should not be maintained, that justice is sacred, that we should lead our lives with choices that bring more love and empathy into the world and reject as sin all actions rooted in hate and fear; to resist intimidation, indoctrination, and subjugation in favor of the safety, security, and freedom of our fellow man. It is a powerful American story, and I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity to help tell it here, in my hometown of Wilmington, NC—a place with a deep history of racial injustice, despite its own inherent beauty and measurable progress. It seems that even here we are still making "baby steps," and I hope that this play gives those able to see it the courage to renew their sense of justice, to take action, to make leaps.