When many TV fans hear the name Richard Thomas, their thoughts inevitably turn to Waltons Mountain. The actor made his fame in the CBS series “The Waltons,” starring as the sensitive and wholesome John-Boy Walton, an aspiring writer chronicling his family’s life in rural Virginia.
Thomas earned an Emmy Award for that role in 1973, and John-Boy remains his best-known and most-loved character. But he’s far more than a one-hit wonder, and has spent the past 50 years building a long and distinguished resume in theater, film and television. This week, Thomas is in Birmingham, portraying Atticus Finch in a national touring production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Aaron Sorkin adapted Harper Lee’s classic novel for the stage in 2016, and the play quickly became a Broadway hit when it opened in 2018. Actors such as Jeff Daniels and Ed Harris lent their talents to the role of Atticus at the Shubert Theatre in Manhattan, portraying the upright lawyer who takes on a racially charged court case in small-town Alabama.
Now Thomas, 72, is putting his own stamp on Atticus, traveling the country as part of a cast that includes Birmingham native Mary Badham, the original Scout from the 1962 movie version of “Mockingbird.” Thomas will star in eight performances of Sorkin’s play here, Nov. 14-19 at the BJCC Concert Hall.
The cordial actor shared his thoughts on “To Kill a Mockingbird” during a recent phone interview with AL.com, and revealed what it’s like for him to walk in Atticus’s shoes. (Note: The interview below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Do you remember the first time you encountered “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Did you read the book in school or see the movie while growing up?
Richard Thomas: I read it in school and I liked it very much. And I liked it even better a couple of years ago when I was preparing, getting ready to do this. Because it’s one of those books you read when you’re young, and it stays with people. But to read it as an adult is really exciting. It’s not a YA novel, you know. And to read it as a parent sheds a lot of new light on it. People like reading it when they’re young, and really enjoy it a second time, reading it as adults. And I saw the movie, of course — I don’t remember when, years back, probably after it first came out. I haven’t seen it since, but it’s a wonderful picture.
Have your thoughts and impressions on the story of “To Kill a Mockingbird” changed over time?
No, not really. I think it’s very clear. The bells that it rings are clear bells, and I think they’re still absolutely applicable today. Childhood is still childhood; loss of innocence is still loss of innocence; and racial injustice is still racial injustice.
From left, Travis Johns as Boo Radley. Maeve Moynihan as Scout Finch, Steven Lee Johnson as Dill Harris and Justin Mark as Jem Finch in the national tour of "To Kill a Mockingbird." (Courtesy photo/Julieta Cervantes)
Why do you think this is such an enduring tale?
It’s an enduring tale because people have memories of their childhood summers, when something happened or they came to realization about something, and their lives were changed. And just growing up and having friends and having fantasies, like the Boo Radley fantasy, and all that. But as far as the issue of social justice is concerned, I mean, this is our story. It’s always been our story, and it continues to be our story. It may shift and change, and step forward and step back, but it’s still our story. When we read (the book), we’re reading about ourselves, for better or worse. And I think it will always be evergreen for Americans for that reason.
When you were approached about playing Atticus Finch in the Broadway tour, what was your initial reaction?
Well, first of all, I knew they were going to be touring it, when they were developing it. I thought, “Well, this is going to tour and I want to be in this tour.” Because I like to tour, anyway. I was in Birmingham for “Twelve Angry Men,” that was the last time I was there, I think. I had a good time there, and I liked it a lot, and I’m looking forward to getting there. But I knew they’d be touring (”Mockingbird”), and I thought, “Well, if ever there was a play to tour, if ever there was a story to tell around the country, this was it.” So I was delighted when they invited me. I mean, I had made it known that I was interested and they said, “Oh, great. Let’s tour.”
Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch and Jacqueline Williams as Calpurnia in the national tour of "To KIll a Mockingbird." (Courtesy photo/ Julieta Cervantes)
What are your thoughts on the version of Atticus in Aaron Sorkin’s play? He’s a bit different than the Atticus in the book.
He’s very different, and in good ways, I think. First of all, Aaron has decided we don’t really need another white savior tale right now, and he’s taken Atticus off his pedestal. This doesn’t mean he’s not still an admirable man, and a good man, and a man who aspires to be a good father, a good citizen, a good neighbor. The way I’d like to put it is that he’s sort of interrogated all of Atticus’s unassailable virtues, primarily his feelings around community, what community means to him. His idealism about people is really interrogated, his understanding of where he fits in the matrix of social justice is explored.
His relationship with Scout and Jim is always wonderful, has always been beloved by so many people, but one of the most important things (Aaron Sorkin) did, he’s given him a great sense of humor, which is really a gift. It’s very funny, this production, as well as very serious. Atticus has a wonderful dry sense of humor. And he’s a real small town lawyer. He’s not some fancy guy who’s going to solve the case; he’s a man of the community, comfortable with his environment, and all of those things are called into question.
Of course, the other thing is, in enriching the role of Calpurnia, which Aaron has done with incredible brilliance, and bringing Calpurnia and Atticus together in their raising of the children, and basically keeping house together, he’s created an aspirational relationship that is central to the play, which is very beautiful. We have, among so many wonderful actors, the great Jacqueline Williams in the part.
We’re looking at these issues in the play through a contemporary lens — not meaning that he’s giving lip service to the way we look at things now, or changed things, or in any way betrayed Harper Lee’s spirit. We really see the issues in the play the way we see them now.
Mary Badham has said if you know Aaron Sorkin’s work, you’ll recognize his writing style in this play. Do you agree?
The dialectic is superb, because he knows how to write argument. And he knows how to write it from both points of view, so it’s very engaging. It’s witty, it’s smart and it’s full of feeling. But it’s really done in the language and the rhythm and the cadences of the time and place, which I think is a real achievement for him. He’s done an amazing job. One of the things I love about it, he has a wonderful ear. He has a wonderful voice, Aaron Sorkin. He writes beautiful scenes. But I was amazed at how he captured the Southern cadence, the Southern humor, the Southern sense. It’s very Southern.
When I saw it on Broadway, I thought, “Well if I’m doing it, one thing I want to be really, really sure about is that everybody understands that it’s a Southern story. This man is really embedded in his time and place.” And he’s given us beautiful language to do that.
Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch and Melanie Moore as Scout Finch in the national tour of "To Kill a Mockingbird."(Courtesy photo/Julieta Cervantes)
Atticus has become an iconic figure in literature and film, and some people automatically see Gregory Peck in their mind’s eye when they think of Atticus. You’ve done Shakespeare and other classics, so taking on an iconic role is not a new experience for you. How did you approach this one?
First of all, the word “iconic” is a great thing for everybody but actors. Icons are essentially unplayable. They’re not people; they’re ideas about people. So what you have to play is a flesh-and-blood being. If you’re doing a realistic drama about people, no icons allowed. So the most important thing is to create a viable human being on stage. Aaron has given all of us (who portray Atticus) a really vulnerable and approachable character, and a terrific journey. He’s created a character that you can play as a human being, and people can feel close to.
And then, the only other thing you can bring to it is your own presence. Greg Peck and I — who I knew and admired, very, very much — could not be more different, in every conceivable way. And that’s great, because one of the great things about classics, especially in the theater, is that with every succeeding iteration, new aspects are illuminated. By virtue of not being somebody else who’s played the part, a new light is shone on the subject.
I mean, if one was worried about playing iconic characters, you would never attempt Hamlet. You would never attempt Richard III. You would never attempt these parts. And the beauty of theater is if it endures, it’s all about doing it again, about looking at it again, in a new way. That’s how things become classics, because they can be re-interrogated and re-represented, from generation to generation.
I think it’s very clear that what we have is classic. But I’m going to walk on stage (as Atticus and some people) will go, “Well, Greg Peck was a lot taller and a lot better-looking, and quite a bit younger.” And that’s fine; they’re allowed; I understand that. But I would hope that within a few minutes, they forget about all that and dive into Aaron’s telling, and our telling of it.
You can’t worry about these things if you’re going to be an actor. You’ve just got to, once you have your script and your text to learn, and the character that the writer has given you to play, you don’t worry about the rest of that stuff. … The beautiful thing about theater is that nobody owns a role. You take it; you investigate it, you do a close reading of it in front of the public and then you pass it on to the next person. That’s the beauty of it.
Mary Badham, foreground, portrays Mrs. Henry DuBose in the national tour of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Badham, a Birmingham native, earned fame for her portrayal of Scout Finch in the 1962 movie version of Harper Lee's novel. Dorcas Sowunmi, in the background, is an ensemble member of the touring cast. (Courtesy photo/Julieta Cervantes)
Any thoughts on touring with Mary Badham as Mrs. DuBose?
She’s great in the part. She’s great in it, and she’s our good luck charm. She’s the cherry on top, and she’s a wonderful woman, and is absolutely terrific as Mrs. DuBose. It’s delicious to have her in that part.
Does it have any special resonance or meaning for you to perform this play in Alabama?
Oh, absolutely. First of all, it is an incredible privilege, not just to be doing this play — because of how beautifully it’s written, and (director) Bart Sher’s production and the company of actors I’m working with — but to take this story around the country, and feel and experience how it resonates differently in different areas has been one of the exciting things about doing it. And it’s one of the beauties of touring, by the way. If you do it only in New York, or only in one city, it’s a very different experience than taking it all around and getting the kaleidoscopic responses that you get.
But to do it in the South is absolutely thrilling. The Southern audiences are very warm — very generally, not just with this play — very welcoming and warm, very responsive. It’s usually a great pleasure to play to those audiences. So I’m very excited to bring it to Southern cities.
Is there something you want audiences to leave with when they see this version of “To Kill a Mockingbird”?
The first thing is, I want them to be entertained. It’s a very rich dish, this play, full of sadness, full of laughter. It’s intellectually stimulating as well as emotionally evocative. So I want the audience to have a full and satisfying theatrical experience. And when I say “entertainment,” I don’t just mean having fun, to be completely engaged, and to feel they’ve been given a full experience. That’s my job, as a theater practitioner. Beyond that, theater is an empathy engine, as far as I’m concerned. Theater, at its best, creates empathy by allowing us all to just be human in the room together, and that’s a salutary effect of theater.
For this particular story, we all feel that not only do we want to be like Atticus, but we kind of are like Atticus. We’re on the right side of things, you know, we’re the good guys. There’s a sense of congratulation when we say, “Well, at least I’m a part of that team. I’m on the good team.” And we feel good about that. We can celebrate that we identify with Atticus.
But I’d also like people to leave the theater and ask themselves, “Well, that’s all fine. But where do I fit into the problem? What am I — either through my environment or my community or my family story or my conditioning or my own biases — how have I become a part of the matrix of this issue, in this story, for better or worse? What can I do tomorrow that would be a little different, a little more conscious, about my participation in the issues of social justice? How can I be a little bit better tomorrow? How can I examine my own story and its relationship to our social justice issues, as a citizen?”
That’s what I’d like people to ask themselves. Not to feel bad about it, not to feel guilty — I’m not going down that stupid street — you can feel bad about bad things without feeling guilty. But you can also look at where you fit into the picture. That’s what I want people to think about.
Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch and Yaegel T. Welch as Tom Robinson in the national tour of "To Kill a Mockingbird."(Courtesy photo/Julieta Cervantes)
Does this version of “To Kill a Mockingbird” give us new talking points on the story?
I think so, probably. There’s a lot to talk about after one sees the play because even though we are seeing a beloved classic, we’re seeing a new version of it. So it isn’t like, “Oh, there’s the Mona Lisa, I’ve seen her 100 times and I love her every time I see her.” But it’s, “There’s the Mona Lisa, and wait a minute, has somebody put a mustache on her?”
Mary Badham has said that during the curtain calls on this tour, people in the audience will yell, “Good night, John-Boy!” How do you feel about that?
It’s great. I think it’s terrific. Why not? The audience is allowed to do whatever they want, except take pictures and answer their phones. No, I have no problem with that. I’m proud of my “Waltons” heritage and my Walton family. I’m thrilled that people still think about it. It’s kind of amazing, after 50 years.
Do you have any timeline in mind for how long you’ll be touring as Atticus?
I’m still learning about (the character); I’m still developing it; there’s a lot more work to be done on it; I’m still loving it. It’s a great, rich dish for an actor, this part in this production. We finish, I think, at the end of June next year, and after that, I don’t know what’s going to happen. There will be a certain point when they’re like, “OK, grandpa.” And it’ll be time to hand it over to somebody else, let them bring their vision to it.
IF YOU GO: The national Broadway tour of “To Kill a Mockingbird” comes to Birmingham on Nov. 14-19 at the BJCC Concert Hall. Eight performances are planned that week, Tuesday through Sunday. Prices range from $34-$129, plus service charges, via Ticketmaster. The series is presented by American Theatre Guild at the 3,000-seat concert hall, which is part of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex downtown. The concert hall is off 11th Avenue North, between 19th and 22nd streets North.
In 2024, “To Kill a Mockingbird” will stop in Auburn at the Gogue Performing Arts Center (Feb. 13-14) and in Huntsville at the Von Braun Center Concert Hall (Feb. 16-18).
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Richard Thomas on ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ tour: ‘To do it in the South is absolutely thrilling’ - AL.com
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