The death of To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee has brought many comments and appreciation for her work from all over the world, and there are also some close connections to her iconic novel in Rochester.
The death of the 89 year author in Alabama happens to come just as GevaTheatre presents a stage play based on To Kill A Mockingbird. It starts Saturday and runs until March 20th.
Director of the play and the artistic director for Geva, Mark Cuddy, says they will dedicate the production to the memory of Harper Lee.
"It has to affect the actors who will be performing over the next month and just the importance of telling this story and the, sort of, lightning in the bottle that Harper Lee caught with this novel."
Cuddy says one reason Geva decided to do this play was because its themes about racial injustice are still relevant.
At Writers and Books in Rochester, Executive Director Joe Flaherty agrees that To Kill A Mockingbird still strikes a very contemporary chord.
"People, for generations now in schools have been reading the book and discussing it and our idea of social justice in this country, in great part has been shaped by people reading it and discussing it."
Writers and Books will also host a class March 23rd to talk about Harper Lee's novel.
