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Harper Lee’s Estate to Sue Over Broadway Mockingbird Adaptation

By March 15, 2018Adaptations, News

It’s been reported today that the estate of the late Harper Lee is reportedly suing the producers of a Broadway adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s argued that the much anticipated stage adaptation of the show written by Aaron Sorkin differs too much from the classic book.

To Kill a Mockingbird is an iconic text, exploring race relations in the Deep South. For years it’s been a pivotal text used by schools, but we heard little about the author. Deeply private, Harper Lee preferred to stay out of the limelight but since her death it seems her estate has been rarely out of the news.

This lawsuit was filed after estate representatives and lawyers read the script of the play, and playwright Sorkin gave various interviews to the media about his interpretation of To Kill a Mockingbird.

It’s just a week since it was reported that Lee’s will was to be unsealed and we discovered that most of her assets including her literary properties were transferred to a trust controlled by lawyer Tonja Carter. The lawyer has not been without controversy for many months over the way she has dealt with the author’s affairs, including her “discovery” of Go Set a Watchman. Soon after Lee’s death Carter came under scrutiny again over the sale of letters belonging to Harper Lee, and now we have more controversy over this much-anticipated stage adaptation.

In response to the 16-page civil action suit, the play producer Scott Rudin denies Carter’s claims, saying that only his team has the final say over the script and not the estate. Lee already optioned a live stage version to Rudin back in June 2015, which Rudin paid $100,000 for the rights to, plus a promise of a share of the royalties. These negotiations took place months before Harper Lee’s death and Rudin says they still stand.

We wait to see whether the production will go ahead, and what the next controversy will be surrounding Harper Lee’s work.



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