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Aaron Sorkin’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Comes to Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor
Bay Street co-founder Stephen Hamilton directs a new production of the acclaimed stage adaptation, which revisits Harper Lee’s classic through a sharper, more contemporary lens.
One of America’s most celebrated novels returns to the stage this November, with a different perspective on a familiar story.
Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor will present Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird from Nov. 9-29, directed by Bay Street co-founder Stephen Hamilton.
The theater has announced the full 12-member cast, featuring East End and New York City actors taking on the residents of fictional Maycomb, Alabama, where a courtroom drama exposes the racial prejudice and moral contradictions of a small Southern town.
A Familiar Story, a Different Perspective
First published in 1960, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows young Scout Finch as her father, attorney Atticus Finch, defends Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman in Depression-era Alabama.
Sorkin, whose credits include The West Wing, The Social Network and A Few Good Men, brings his trademark dialogue and dramatic tension to the story, reexamining its characters and the moral questions at its center.
His adaptation, which premiered on Broadway in 2018, gives greater prominence to the courtroom proceedings and challenges some of the assumptions surrounding Atticus Finch, long regarded as one of American literature’s great moral heroes.
Scout, her brother Jem and their friend Dill remain central to the storytelling, reflecting on the events that shaped their understanding of justice, prejudice and the adults around them.
For Hamilton, the play’s relevance extends well beyond its historical setting.
“There has never been a better time in this nation’s history for a re-examination of Harper Lee’s Mockingbird, an essential chapter in the American cultural narrative,” Hamilton said. “And from Aaron Sorkin’s point of view, the conversation about the nature of evil, and the limits of individual morality is as pressing today – perhaps more so – than they were in 1960.” — Stephen Hamilton
Meet the Cast
J. Stephen Brantley takes on the role of Atticus Finch, with Kendra Foster McBride as Scout, Ryan Schaeffer as Jem and Matthew Schiavoni as Dill.
Judah Josiah Alexander Fabre plays Tom Robinson, with Erin Margaret Pettigrew as Calpurnia, Hope Hamilton as Mayella Ewell and Mitchell Cetuk as Bob Ewell.
Rounding out the company are Matthew Conlon as Judge Taylor, Joe Pallister as Sheriff Heck Tate, Michael Santora as Horace Gilmer and Dr. Reynolds, and Kirk Koczanowski in the roles of Mr. Cunningham, Link Deas and Boo Radley.
Hamilton, Bay Street’s co-founder and first executive director, previously adapted and directed productions of Fahrenheit 451 and A Streetcar Named Desire at the theater.
Bringing Literature to Life
The production is part of Bay Street’s Literature Live!, an educational theater program that introduces middle and high school students to works of literature through live performance, with student performances offered at no charge.
The program complements classroom study with educational materials and opportunities for discussion, while public performances invite audiences of all ages to experience the work.
IF YOU GO
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
Nov. 9-29, 2026
Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbor
Tickets and performance schedules: https://www.baystreet.org/
Box office: 631-725-9500, Wednesday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m.