Richard Thomas is Atticus Finch in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' coming to The Hanover Theatre

Veteran actor Richard Thomas has been playing small-town Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch in the national tour of a new stage adaptation of Harper Lee's American classic 1960 novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" since 2022.

"By the time we're done at the very end of June it will just be going on two-and-a-half years. It's kind of unbelievable," Thomas, 72, said during a recent telephone interview. "Have I really been doing this for two-and-a-half years?"

But there have been plenty of elements keeping the role and the story fresh for Thomas, perhaps best known as John-Boy from TV series "The Waltons," as the production of "To Kill A Mockingbird" comes to The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Worcester for a five-performance run May 3 to 5. The performances will conclude The Hanover Theatre's 2023-24 Broadway Series.

The issues raised in "To Kill a Mockingbird" of racism, justice and understanding are no less relevant today, Thomas said. "It's still very important in 2024 ... It's been a wonderful thing to take this story around the country."

'The most beloved book in the country'

Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is set in Depression-era Alabama and told through the eyes of Scout, Atticus Finch’s 6-year-old daughter, who is hanging out during the summer with her brother, Jem, and their friend, Dill.

When Atticus chooses to represent Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of rape, Scout begins to experience a loss of innocence when she sees racism and the town's justice unfold before her eyes. With that, she also heeds her father's words that most people are nice when you finally see them for who they are. Lee, who died in 2016, grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, and was somewhat reclusive and never gave interviews. She is said to have based the story on an event that occurred near her hometown when she was 10.

"There's a reason it's selected as the most beloved book in the country," Thomas said. "It's a picture of us that we can use to decide where we're at."

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The national tour of "To Kill a Mockingbird" has visited Harper Lee country in Alabama three times, Thomas said. The reception has always been warm. "They own this story. They're very proud of it."

"To Kill a Mockingbird" was made into a successful 1962 movie that won Gregory Peck an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus. There have been stage versions over the years. But in 2018 a new adaptation by playwright and screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing") premiered in December 2018 at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre directed by College of the Holy Cross alum Bartlett Sher.

Sorkin's adaptation

The production, which initially starred Jeff Daniels as Atticus, became the highest-grossing American play in Broadway history, showing that the story still reverberates with audiences, Thomas said. Sorkin "has done a wonderful job of bringing it up to date."

Thomas is a friend of Daniels and expressed 'huge admiration" for his performance. "Jeff Daniels and I go way back. When I found out he was doing this I thought, 'This is going to tour.'" Thomas was interested and subsequently was offered the part of Atticus for the national tour. "They extended the invitation and I was thrilled."

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Sorkin's play, which the late Lee's estate briefly objected to until the matter was settled, gives more emphasis and character development to Atticus rather than have Scout as the main protagonist. The story is narrated by Scout, Jem and Dill, who are played by adult actors. Sorkin also expands the roles of the two main Black characters Atticus deals with — his housekeeper, Calpurnia, and the doomed Tom.

Thomas has previously said, "Aaron Sorkin has done such a great thing with the play. He’s taken Atticus off his pedestal, which is a gift for actors and the audience.”  

'Everyone's going to bring something different'

Peck's memorable performance as Atticus might be felt by some to be a sort of template for the role. Asked if he has seen the film and if it affected his interpretation, Thomas was firm. "I've seen it. I knew him (Peck) — a wonderful man, by the way. It didn't influence on my version of the part at all. It was a very different time when the movie was made in terms of style. A different script, screenplay," he said.

"Everyone's going to bring something different. All you can bring is yourself. People come in with an idea of what the story is. It can be any number of things. You just hope that over time they forget the other stuff and take a journey with you."

After over two years in the role, Thomas said he's still finding new aspects to take from the story and Sorkin's script.

"Interpretations perhaps not so much, but in terms of the day-to-day inflections and trying new things ... If you have a text that can sustain a close reading, and the play is so beautifully written, I've been very lucky. I've been able to work at it while working on it."

Meanwhile, "we have a wonderful cast" Thomas said of the production's 24 actors. The cast includes Mary Badham, who played Scout in the 1962 film and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at age 10. In the touring production she plays the bigoted townsperson Mrs. Dubose.

The production and Thomas have been receiving consistently fine reviews. "Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch is at the height of his career," wrote David Taffet in the Dallas Voice.  

Thomas has said that at curtain calls for "To Kill a Mockingbird" some people in the audience have been known to yell out "Goodnight John-Boy."

He played budding author John-Boy Walton from 1972 to 1977 in the CBS Depression-era family drama.

'Waltons' legacy

Regarding whether being associated with the role was subsequently harmful to his career for reasons including being typecast, Thomas said, "No. It's amazing. Any piece of work that you do that brings you to that level of success is really going to change your life in a wonderful way. I love that show. I have a lot of pride in what it was.

"When you leave a series it casts a long shadow of what people think of you for. Every actor who's had success is going to come across this. You just have to play a long-game play at one job at a time. Build a body of work that is going to satisfy you. And fortunately I was able to do that."

Although people may associate Thomas with television, he has achieved an impressive body of work on the stage. Indeed, that's where the son of ballet dancers for the New York City Ballet made his acting debut at the age of 6 in summer theater. He made his Broadway debut when he was 7 in 1958 in the Franklin Roosevelt bio-drama “Sunrise at Campobello.”

"I also began TV very shortly after that," Thomas said. He was a prolific child actor during the 1950s era of live television in shows such as "Hallmark Hall of Fame." Later he starred in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel "It" and played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series "The Americans" (2013-16), along with many other shows. Among his movies are "Wonder Boys" (2000) and "The Unforgivable" (2021).

The stage was also always in the picture. Thomas worked closely with the Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut, in the late 1980s and early 90s, where he took on "Hamlet" in 1987. He has appeared in 14 Broadway plays, classic and new. Co-starring with Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon in the 2017 revival of “The Little Foxes,” Thomas received a Tony nomination for featured actor.

'It's all acting'

Does he have a preference — theater or tv/movies?

"I would say theater the most for sure. It's just home for me my whole life," Thomas said.

"I don't have to choose. It's all acting. Each way has its own challenges and reality. But theater — it's my home place for me. I feel more at home in the theater than anywhere else."

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is his third major national stage tour and by far his longest. He said he toured with "Twelve Angry Men" for 18 months and was also in "The Humans" touring production.

The first national tour of "To Kill a Mockingbird" launched in March 2022 after rehearsals and began its third season last September at Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Texas. Worcester is one of 41 cities in the 2023-2024 touring season.

No problem for Thomas. "I just think it's a wonderful part of an actor's life," he said of touring.

However, the tour will end in California at the end of June, "and then I'm going to take some time off," Thomas said. He lives in New York City.

Since the interview, he has been listed as a cast member for an upcoming production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York beginning in September.

Thomas said he's never been to Worcester but has friends who live in New England coming to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" at The Hanover Theatre. "I love New England," he added.

He likes The Hanover Theatre's history as a renovated theater that had first opened in 1904.

"One of the joys of touring is visiting these theaters. They are vital places of the cultural lives of their community. To visit them is a very encouraging thing to do," he said.

It's also good to be visiting theaters that are putting on actual plays, he noted, at a time when most touring shows these days are musicals.

"Plays have been taken out of the agenda. If people can go out and see them, they'll go. Nothing wrong with musicals, but we need plays out there, too," Thomas said.

'To Kill a Mockingbird'

When: 8 p.m. May 3; 2 and 8 p.m. May 4; 1 and 6:30 p.m. May 5. Audio description services available 1 p.m. May 5; ASL interpretation available 6:30 p.m. May 5

Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester

How much: $39 to $119 depending on seat location and performance. (877) 571-7469; thehanovertheatre.org.