Stars align for Evanston resident Jacqueline Williams to perform in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' national tour
It seems Jacqueline Williams was fated to play Calpurnia.
During the initial Broadway run of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” adapted by Aaron Sorkin from Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the veteran Chicago-area actress was approached about taking over the role of Calpurnia - Atticus Finch's beloved housekeeper and surrogate mother to his children - from LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
Williams was unable to join the show then. But when producers began organizing the production's national tour, which returns to Chicago's CIBC Theatre next week for a limited run, they contacted her again. This time the stars aligned for the Evanston resident. A veteran of Northlight, Court, Goodman, Steppenwolf and other Chicago theaters, the Broadway veteran divided her time between Chicago and New York City juggling theater, film and television, and performed onstage in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Portland, Sarasota, Florida, and other cities. But Chicago remains her home base. The caliber of Chicago-area artists and the camaraderie they share keeps her here.
“The arts community here genuinely support each other,” she said. “It's really unmatched, and I love that about our city.”
But the invitation to play Calpurnia was impossible to resist. A lifelong fan of Lee's beloved 1960 novel and the 1962 Academy Award-winning film, Williams has been with the tour since it commenced about 16 months ago.
“The story is not only beloved, it's important,” she said. “It's even more relevant today than in 1934 when the story takes place.”
Touring with this show, means “fighting the good fight for change,” said Williams, referring to the country's persistent racial divisions.
“Unfortunately, we have made very little progress since 1934 (when the action occurs). We've made very little progress since 1962 when the film was released,” said the Joseph Jefferson Award-winner. “We have a lot of work left to do.
“All that is required,” she said, “all that is needed to spark healthy change is to make an effort to try to respect and understand each other.”
To be part of its potential to effect change is one reason Williams has committed to touring in the production long-term. That and playing Calpurnia, a character Sorkin fleshed out in his adaptation, which gives audiences a fuller picture of where Calpurnia fits in the family.
“Calpurnia and Atticus are like brother and sister,” she said.
Having known each other for years, there's a great deal of trust between them, she said. They feel free to disagree and laugh together. But as well-meaning as Atticus is, there's much that he can't understand about Black people's experiences. Calpurnia is the voice that schools him in the Black experience, said Williams, who speaks glowingly of her co-star.
“I couldn't ask for a better scene partner than Richard Thomas,” she said describing him as “a sublime actor, a sublime human and a sublime Atticus.”
She urges fans of the novel or the movie to experience the story they love live.
“Come out and reminisce with each other, share with each other, laugh with each other, cry with each other, hope with each other and leave a better, fuller person who will work for change,” she said.
“To Kill a Mockingbird”
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9; 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 10-11; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13
Where: CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, broadwayinchicago.com or tokillamockingbirdbroadway.com
Tickets: $35-$114
COVID-19 precautions: Masks optional