“To Kill a Mockingbird” is set to come to Broadway in the 2017-2018 season, according to The New York Times.
Producer Scott Rudin obtained stage adaptation rights for the American classic and hired Aaron Sorkin as the screenwriter and Bartlett Sher as the director of the upcoming play.
The announcement comes as a breath of fresh air for Harper Lee fans after the controversial release of “Go Set a Watchman,” published last summer. Lee’s second novel made waves in the literary community due to the dramatic plot twist of Atticus Finch, a once well-respected father figure.
In an interview with The New York Times, Rudin said, “The Atticus we do is going to be the Atticus in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,'” alleviating the worries of “Watchmen” readers who were shocked by the character’s transformation.
Broadway won’t be the first time the story hits the stage. The show has been depicted in schools and regional theaters around the country. In fact, The New York Times reports that in Harper Lee’s hometown, Monroeville, Alabama, volunteers have been staging the show every spring for the last 26 years. More recently, the Mockingbird Co., a nonprofit created by Lee, now produces the show.
